Rajesh Nayak

Bio

Dr. Rajesh Nayak is the Associate Director of Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management (RCRM) at FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR). He joined NCTR in 2001 as a scientist where he conducted scientific research that supplemented FDA’s regulatory decisions to ensure the safety of foods and antibiotics in the “farm-to-the-fork” continuum. As a principal investigator, Dr. Nayak’s research focused on four broad categories: (1) Epidemiology, surveillance, and microbial source tracking of food-animal infectious pathogens through the food production environment using genotyping methods; (2) Threat assessment of emerging pathogens and their genetic characteristics using microarray, sequencing and bioinformatics platforms; (3) Investigating the mechanisms of drug resistance and pathogenesis in bacterial pathogens isolated from food, feed, environment, humans and veterinary sources; and (4) Molecular tools for detecting of bacterial pathogens and their genetic traits. Dr. Nayak has authored or co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters and has given over 145 presentations at national and international conferences. In 2015, Dr. Nayak joined RCRM as a Senior Health Scientist where he led NCTR and FDA biosafety programs and provided guidance to research scientists and support staff on the regulatory compliance of hazardous biological agent and toxins. In 2018, Dr. Nayak was named Associate Director of RCRM. The mission of RCRM is to ensure the safety and security of employees at the Jefferson Laboratories campus in Arkansas and to ensure research conducted at NCTR is compliant with state and federal regulations. RCRM is responsible for the following programs: chemical safety, biological safety, radiological safety, controlled substances, quality assurance, occupational health and medical surveillance, laboratory safety, hazardous waste management, industrial hygiene, physical security, records management, and archives. Dr. Nayak serves as a senior advisor and subject matter expert to HHS, FDA and NCTR leadership on One Health Initiatives, food safety, antimicrobial resistance, laboratory safety, environmental safety, and occupational safety and health. He represents NCTR and FDA on several state and federal committees and working groups.