Appointed commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration in December 1990 by President George Bush, David A. Kessler (born 1951) was reappointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. He stepped down in 1997 to become dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. He will be remembered as a consumer's advocate and a vigilant watchdog over the industries which produce food and drugs.

David Kessler was born on May 31, 1951, in New York City. He graduated from Amherst College magna cum laude in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the liberal arts honorary fraternity, and to Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society of North America. At Amherst he received the Harvey Blodgett Award in Biology and the John Woodruff Simpson fellowship for the study of medicine.

From 1973 to 1979 he went to Harvard Medical School, receiving his doctorate in 1979. In 1977-1978 he was a special student at...