iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Doctor Rahul Gupta, a primary care physician for over a span of 25 years, has been confirmed by the US Senate as the Director of National Drug Control Policy.
He has been given the position on a bipartisan basis, the White House said in a statement on Thursday, October 28.
Dr Gupta is the first medical doctor to ever lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the statement further read.
“As a practicing physician and former health official who has served in rural communities, I have seen firsthand the heartbreaking toll of addiction and overdose in our communities, but I have also seen how we can save lives if we understand the individuals behind the statistics and meet them where they are,” said Dr. Gupta in the White House press communique.
He continued, “President Biden has made clear that addressing addiction and the overdose epidemic is an urgent priority. As Director, I will diligently work to advance high-quality, data-driven strategies to make our communities healthier and safer.”
Gupta has served as the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Interim Chief Science Officer and Senior Vice President at March of Dimes. He provided strategic oversight for March of Dimes’ domestic and global medical and public health efforts, it said.
He has also served as Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine as well as adjunct professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership in the School of Public Health at West Virginia University and visiting faculty at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Gupta began his career in private practice in an underserved community of fewer than 2,000 residents. He has since served under two Governors as the Health Commissioner of West Virginia.
As the state’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Gupta led the opioid crisis response efforts and launched a number of pioneering public health initiatives, including the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Birthscore program to identify high-risk infants. He also led the development of the state’s Zika action plan and its preparedness efforts during the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak, the statement read.
Gupta was born in India and grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC. At the age of 21, he completed medical school at the University of Delhi.
He is married to Dr. Seema Gupta, a physician in the Veterans Administration for over a decade. They are the proud parents of identical twin sons, Arka and Drew, the statement further read.
Senator Joe Manchin tweeted about Gupta’s appointment saying, “Dr. Rahul Gupta has been confirmed as the Director of @ONDCP. Dr. Gupta led the fight against the opioid crisis in #WV & I’m proud that he will be leading the way nationally in combatting the drug epidemic.”
