CAPT William A. Hess, B.Sc. Pharmacy, R.Ph.

Pharmacist; Lexicographer/Center Consultant; Acting Team Commander for PHS-1 RDF
DHHS/FDA/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research/Office of the Center Director
HF-18, Parklawn Bldg, Room 14B45, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857
301-827-7865
william.hess@fda.hhs.gov

CAPT Hess received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy at The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science in 1977, and immediately began work as a Staff Pharmacist at the National Institutes of Health.  While he was there, he participated in research in the field of clinical neurology and eventually advanced to the position of Pharmacist Practitioner.  In 1985, he transferred to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where he worked on the maintenance of a pharmaceutical database as Liaison Representative for the Division of Drug Information Resources within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.  After a short tour of duty at the Health Resources and Services Administration, he returned to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1989 where he has worked ever since on the development of standardized pharmaceutical nomenclature for internal and external databases, publications, and labeling.  He is presently assigned to the Medical Informatics Staff in Office of the Center Director in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, where he works on FDA’s Substance Registration System and Structured Product Labeling initiatives.

CAPT Hess is licensed as a Pharmacist in both Pennsylvania and Maryland, and has also practiced part-time in a chain pharmacy.  He has received numerous awards during his career as a USPHS Commissioned Corps officer, including the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal.  He holds six academic appointments at accredited colleges of pharmacy, and has coauthored dozens of publications and presentations, including a chapter in Remington.  CAPT Hess is the Acting Commander for the PHS-1 Rapid Deployment Force, and has held the titles of Administration/Finance Section Chief, Logistics Officer, and Operations Officer for the PHS-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team.  He has deployed to national emergencies on numerous occasions, including hurricanes Hugo, Andrew, Marilyn, Floyd, Katrina, Rita, and Ike, to the Mid-west floods, and to the nation’s Capitol during the anthrax bioterrorist attacks.

CAPT Hess is married, has four children, and has two grandchildren.