Tammy R. Beckham
Tammy R. Beckham (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Associate Director of the Resilient Supply Chain and Shortages Prevention, Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Tammy Beckham, DVM, Ph.D. is the Associate Director of the Resilient Supply Chain and Shortages Prevention Program within the Centers for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at the Food and Drug Administration. In this role, she leads CDRH’s efforts to increase resiliency in the U.S. medical device supply chain and is currently leading the development a novel, state-of-the-art capability to detect, predict and prevent disruptions and shortages in the medical device supply chain.
From March 2020-December 2020, Dr. Beckham was detailed to the COVID response to lead the COVID-19 Laboratory Testing & Diagnostics Task Force/Working Group at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this role, she led a multi-disciplinary team to develop, update and lead the national testing strategy for COVID-19; provided technical assistance on testing to states, territories, and tribal communities; and worked with testing manufacturers to address supply chain issues.
From 2019-March 2020 Dr. Beckham was the Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS. During her tenure at OASH, Dr. Beckham advised the ASH on matters related to HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, blood and tissue safety, vaccine safety, efficacy, innovation & marketing, and other zoonotic and infectious disease scientific and policy issues. She provided oversight and coordination for the HHS implementation of the Presidential Initiative to End the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America.
Previously, Dr. Beckham served as the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. In this role, she provided leadership to the college through advancing the college mission, vision, and goals. As Dean of the College, she was responsible for oversight of academic programs, the veterinary health center, and the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory. In her previous role as Director of the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD) she provided leadership and oversight to the Institute and led and executed a multi-million-dollar research portfolio aimed at defending the nation from high consequence foreign animal, emerging and zoonotic diseases. Founded in April 2004 as a Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence, IIAD leverages the resources of multiple major universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and private industry partners.
From 2008-2014, Dr. Beckham was the director of the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic (TVMDL) Laboratory. In this role, she provided leadership for one of the busiest veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States. TVMDL is comprised of four locations, two full-service laboratories and two poultry laboratories located throughout the State of Texas.
Prior to being selected as director of TVMDL, Dr. Beckham served as director of the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. Her responsibilities included managing the diagnosis of animal diseases, overseeing diagnostic test development for a nationwide animal health diagnostic system, and coordinating efforts with the Department of Homeland Security, the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and other entities.
Dr. Beckham is a magna cum laude graduate of Auburn University, where she earned her doctor of veterinary medicine degree in 1998. She also holds a doctorate in biomedical science from Auburn, received in 2001, while she served as a captain in the U.S. Army. She served at the Army’s Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Md., where she helped develop improved techniques for detecting deadly pathogens such as Ebola and Marburg viruses.