IUSD board member tapped to advise Food and Drug Administration on risk communication

Earlier this month, Dr. Gavin Huntley-Fenner was elected to serve a second full term on IUSD's Board of Education. But that's not the only public service he'll be performing over the next four years. He's also just received a four-year appointment to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee.

Formed in June 2007, the committee counsels the agency on ways to improve public communication about the risks and benefits of FDA-regulated products. Its establishment was one of the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's 2006 report, "The Future of Drug Safety: Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public." Huntley-Fenner, a scientist who will be one of 15 voting members on the panel, will specifically study how warnings, labels and other types of hazard communications impact safety-related behavior.  "I am very proud to have been selected as a national caliber expert in the field and eager to use my professional skills to serve my country," he said. This isn’t the first major appointment for Huntley-Fenner, who holds a doctorate in brain and cognitive sciences. In 2007, he was also selected by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell to serve on a newly created committee to help improve education programs for students with autism.