Janet Woodcock was named acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Jan. 20 by the Biden administration to replace Dr. Stephen Hahn.

Dr. Janet Woodcock hasn’t lived in Blair County for decades, but the area holds “a special place deep in my heart.”

“What’s really stayed with me is my love of nature and natural beauty,” Woodcock, acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said in a phone interview Thursday.

Woodcock, 72, was named to the interim position Jan. 20 by the Biden administration to replace Dr. Stephen Hahn.

She has been employed in various high-level roles within the FDA since 1986, including 10 years as director of the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Review, chief medical officer and deputy commissioner.

In 2007, she returned as director of CDER, and in 2020 was assigned by the Trump administration to accelerate vaccine development and treatments against the coronavirus.

A New York Times article said she was brought to the agency’s drug division by Dr. David Kessler, recently named the Biden administration’s chief science officer, who is a former FDA commissioner.

Family ties

Woodcock is a 1966 graduate of Hollidaysburg High School and the daughter of the late attorney John Woodcock and his former wife, the late Frances Woodcock.

Her stepmother, Angela Woodcock, is Woodcock’s last relative living in the Altoona area.

When the couple married in 1979, John’s children — Janet, Jeff and John Woodcock III — were older than Angela’s daughters, Lisa and Michelle.

Attorney Woodcock adopted Lisa and Michelle shortly after they married.

“I would describe our relationship as very respectful and warm,” Angela Woodcock said. “Janet has made me and my daughters better people by having known her because she is exactly who she is — she’s very bright, and while she carries many titles, she is so very warm and humble.”

Angela Woodcock said her stepdaughter has a way of “putting people at ease” and explaining “science in a very factual, easy-to-understand way.”

Driven to science

Janet Woodcock said she knew in high school she would pursue a career in science even though she worked summers at her father’s Hollidaysburg law office.

“My father had a big influence in the offering of advanced academic classes,” she said. “I loved science. I remember we won a state science competition and advanced to national finals at Princeton. My desire to go into science was fueled by that exposure.”

High school classmate Pat Barnes, a longtime Hollidaysburg chiropractor, remembers Janet as “being someone you knew would succeed and go far in life.”

“She was a student who excelled in academics and was also very active outside the classroom,” Barnes said. “She was a cheerleader and very social.”

Barnes, a football player at Temple University, said he last saw her as she cheered for his opposition, Bucknell, where Woodcock received a bachelor of science degree in chemistry.

She received her doctor of medicine degree from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago.

She completed further training and a fellowship in rheumatology.

While she enjoyed interacting with patients, she felt called to use her knowledge and abilities in a more problem-focused way to serve larger numbers of people through public service.

“I love my work and feel I make a real contribution because the FDA’s mission to safeguard the public’s health is so compelling and touches all facets of our lives,” she said.

In grappling with issues surrounding COVID-19, Woodcock said she “keeps my focus on the ultimate patient. In public health, people must be foremost on our minds as we do our mission.”

‘Idyllic time’

Like others during the pandemic, Woodcock said she’s been cut off from meeting with friends and her family. She is married and has two daughters.

She seeks relaxation by caring for her gardens, especially orchids, and hiking.

“My mother was an intellectual who loved reading and languages. I remember she would do the New York Times Sunday crossword in an hour,” Woodcock said. “So I get my love of literature and reading from her. She was also a great collector of antiques.”

Her father was an athlete and passed along to her a love of the outdoors — as well as community service as a school board director and baseball coach.

“I remember going ice skating on the Juniata River and falling through the ice, running across creeks and finding snakes on ponds,” Woodcock said, laughing at the memories. “We were kids during a time when we were allowed to roam freely. We were turned outdoors and told to be home by dinner time. It was an idyllic time to grow up.”

Asked if she had any words of advice to today’s high school students, she said, “I think people succeed when they follow their interests and passions and find a good fit. I think if people find what makes them happy — whether it’s being good at woodworking or math or science — then pursue those things that give you satisfaction and where you can contribute. Find what is meaningful to you — try different things and don’t settle.”