Rahul Gupta

Rahul Gupta (born 1970 or 1971)[1] is an American physician from the state of West Virginia. He is the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the first physician to serve in the role.[2]

Rahul Gupta
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Assumed office
November 5, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJames W. Carroll
Personal details
Born1970/1971 (age 51–52)
India
EducationDelhi University (MD)
University of Alabama, Birmingham (MPH)
London School of Business and Finance (MBA)

Early life

Gupta was born in India and raised in a suburb of Washington, D.C. His father is a diplomat.[3] Gupta earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University College of Medical Sciences of Delhi University. He earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He worked as an assistant professor of medicine at Meharry Medical College and at UAB.[4]

Medical career

Gupta ran the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department from 2009 to 2014.[5] He became the director of the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health in 2015, and focused on reducing overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic.[3] He left the role in 2018 to become the chief medical officer of the March of Dimes.[6]

Biden administration

Gupta was the lead member of the 2020 presidential transition of Joe Biden for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).[7] Biden nominated him to be director of the ONDCP on July 13, 2021.[8] His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 28,[9] and he was sworn into office on November 18.[10]

Upon taking office, Gupta noted that addressing “the overdose epidemic that has claimed more than 100,000 lives between April 2020 and April 2021” would be his priority.[11]

References
  1. Ehley, Brianna (May 2, 2018). "The Immigrant Doctor Who's Solving West Virginia's Opioids Crisis". Politico. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  2. "Biden chooses Rahul Gupta as director of Office of National Drug Control Policy". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  3. Ehley, Brianna. "The Immigrant Doctor Who's Solving West Virginia's Opioids Crisis". POLITICO Magazine.
  4. Payne, Aaron (December 15, 2014). "Gupta ready for chief health officer role".
  5. Staff, WSAZ News. "Former Kanawha-Charleston Health Dept. director, W.Va. Health Officer named to Biden transition team". www.wsaz.com.
  6. McElhinny, Brad (September 18, 2018). "Gupta leaving state Bureau of Public Health". WV MetroNews. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  7. LIEU, SARAH (November 11, 2020). "Dr. Rahul Gupta, former top W.Va. health official, part of presidential transition team". WCHS.
  8. "Biden picks former West Virginia health official as drug czar". POLITICO.
  9. "US Senate confirms Gupta as White House drug czar". October 29, 2021.
  10. "West Virginia's Dr. Rahul Gupta is now the nation's Drug Czar". November 18, 2021.
  11. "@DrGupta46". Twitter. November 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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