Matthew R. Holman

Director, Office of Science (OS),Center for Tobacco Products (CTP)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Biography

Matthew R. Holman, Ph.D. is currently Director of the Office of Science at the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He was appointed to that position in January 2017. The Office of Science at CTP is responsible for identifying, developing, and enhancing the science related to tobacco products, their use, and the resulting morbidity and mortality so that regulatory decisions will have the greatest impact on improving public health. To accomplish this goal, they provide the scientific support for regulations and guidance, review tobacco product applications, evaluate the knowledge basis for regulatory decisions, and carry out research to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge related to tobacco product regulation. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland at College Park in 2000.

Before taking on his current position, Dr. Holman served as Director of the Division of Product Science within CTP’s Office of Science for six years. In this position, he oversaw evaluation of the composition and design of tobacco products. In addition, he was involved in chemical, microbiological, and engineering research on tobacco products, resulting in numerous publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. During this time, Dr. Holman also served as Technical Project Lead (TPL) in reviewing over a thousand SE Reports. As TPL, he was responsible for the overall scientific review of SE Reports by CTP. Before his tenure at CTP, he worked in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) on over-the-counter drug products. He served in a few positions within CDER, with his last position being Deputy Director of the Division of Nonprescription Regulation Development. In this role, he was involved in the publication of approximately 50 rulemakings, guidance documents, and other Federal Register notices.