Organizational Structure of the DDDP

This summer I’m interning at the FDA, which is an extremely highly structured organization. The FDA is underneath the US Department of Health and Human Services. In the FDA, there are four different offices which govern the essential parts of the agency. These are the Office of the Commissioner, Office of Foods, Office of Global Regulatory Operations and Policy, Office of Medical Products and Tobacco, and the Office of Operations. I work under the Office of Medical Products and Tobacco under a subgroup called the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, also known as CDER. Under CDER, there are a bunch of different subgroups which look at different aspects of drug evaluation and the drug approval process. I’m working under the Office of Drug Evaluation III, under the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products.

This past week was my first of work, and throughout the orientation program, they put a big focus on communication with others outside of your specific division or office. I thought this was very interesting because often people view scientists as people who might be socially awkward or shy away from communication, instead just focusing on getting their work done. Their effort in trying to break the stigma associated with people in this field I thought was very interesting and inspiring. Another thing I thought was very interesting was how much this was encouraged. When getting shown around the office, I was being told not only where things were, but there was also a huge focus on learning who you were around and who would be able to help you in different situations. I thought this was very cool because I always assumed government workers didn’t like their jobs or their coworkers and tried to get their work done to get out. This didn’t seem to be the case. I saw a lot of people wandering around saying hi and starting up conversations with random people in the office when they needed a break. This work environment seemed very cool and I think it will contribute positively to me getting my work done and feeling welcome in this new environment.