Vanila M. Singh
Chief Medical Officer, OASH, HHS
In office
June 2017 – July 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byKaren Scott
Succeeded byLeith States
Personal details
BornRajasthan, India
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
George Washington University Medical Center
(MD)
AwardsPhilipp M. Lippe, MD Award
ASIPP Lifetime Achievement Award

Vanila M. Singh is an American physician and professor with involvement in United States health policy.[1] Singh was a candidate for the United States House of Representatives in 2014.[2] Early in her career she taught at UCLA Medical Center,[3] and she is currently an associate professor of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at Stanford University Medical Center.[4] On June 12, 2017,[5] she was appointed the chief medical officer to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a presidential appointment at the Senior Executive Service level.[6] She served as Chair of the Inter-Agency Pain Management Task Force established by the CARA Act of 2016, which released its final report on acute and chronic pain management best practices on May 30, 2019.[7] Dr. Singh was also appointed as the Acting Regional Health Administrator in Region 9 (California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and six Pacific Islands) in August 2018.[8][9]

With various Republican Party endorsements,[10] in early 2014 Singh announced a campaign against incumbent Mike Honda to represent California's 17th congressional district (Silicon Valley) in the US House of Representatives.[2] In the primaries Singh came in third[11][12][13][14][1] In August 2014, Neel Kashkari named Singh the chairperson of the Indo American Coalition during his campaign for the governorship of California.[15][16] In 2016, she was a California delegate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.[17]

Singh is vice chairman of the National Physicians Council on Health Policy. In 2016 she was named to the editorial board of Interventional Pain Letters.[18] For 2016 and 2017, she was named chair of the professional standards/conduct committee of the Santa Clara County Medical Association.[19]

Early life and education

Vanila M. Singh was born in Bikaner, India. At age one[20] her parents Lalit and Leela Mathur[3] immigrated to the United States.[21] The family moved to California when she was four years old,[20] and she spent her youth in Fremont, California,[13] attending Niles Elementary School, Centerville Junior High School, and Washington High School.[16] During her childhood her parents helped establish the Hindu Temple in Fremont, also founding the Rajasthani Association of North America.[20]

Singh was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley where she double-majored in economics and molecular and cell biology.[16] Graduating with a B.S.,[4] she then moved to Washington, D.C. to become a medical student at the George Washington University Medical Center,[3] where she received her M.D.[4]

Career

Medical roles

Singh completed her initial medical internship at Yale University Medical Center in 1997 and 1998. An anesthesia resident at Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan from 1998 until 2001, from 2001 until 2002 she was a pain management fellow in various locations, including Cornell University, Columbia Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the Hospital for Special Surgery.[4] She is double-certified in anesthesia and pain management from the American Board of Anesthesiology.[18] After serving as a clinical assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center,[3] she became a clinical associate professor at Stanford University Medical School[20] for anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine.[4] Specializing in ultrasound-guided interventional procedures for pain and regional anesthesiology, Singh earned a Masters of Academic Medicine from University of Southern California.[18] Dr. Singh is named as a teaching mentor for the pain fellowship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.[22]

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Singh was named Chief Medical Officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 12, 2017,[5] as the primary medical advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health on the development and implementation of HHS-wide public health policy recommendations, and guiding the national policy on opioids.[5] Dr. Singh chaired the congressionally mandated Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force and launched the National Pain Strategy, the government's first broad-ranging effort to improve how pain is perceived, assessed and treated, and what the effects of the opioid epidemic was on various communities.[23][24] The task force published its report on May 30, 2019,[7] which was endorsed by organizations including the American Medical Association.[25]

She was also appointed as the Acting Regional Health Administrator for Region 9 (California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and six Pacific Islands) in August 2018.[8][9]

Board memberships

Dr. Singh is an independent member of the board of Lucid Lane, a telehealth service for preventing anxiety, pain, and dependence on substances and medication.[26] She was appointed as an independent board of directors member for BioDelivery Sciences, International (NASDAQ: BDSI), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious and debilitating chronic conditions.[27][28][29] Dr. Singh is also an independent board member for Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company developing novel drug delivery systems for pain management.[30][31]

Media coverage

Dr. Singh is a frequent contributor on local and national TV covering the COVID-19 pandemic. She has appeared on Fox Business' Neil Cavuto: Coast to Coast,[32][33][34][35][36] Newsy Tonight with Chance Seales,[37][38][39] and FOX KTVU.[40][41][42] She has penned several op-eds on COVID-19, pain management policies, mental health, and illicit drugs which have been published in The Hill,[43][44][45] Washington Post,[46] STAT,[47] and American Military News.[48] Dr. Singh has also been profiled in Silicon Valley Magazine[49] and Practical Pain Management.[50]

2014 election

In January 2014[3] she challenged incumbent Mike Honda, a Democrat, to represent California's 17th congressional district (Silicon Valley) in the 2014 midterm elections. She was the first Republican-endorsed candidate to enter the race leading up to the June 3, 2014 open primaries held to select the two main candidates for the official elections in November.[20] Although new to politics, Singh had previously supported politicians such as Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.[3] An early poll in March 2014 indicated Singh ahead of Democratic challenger Ro Khanna and behind Honda.[51] As campaign points[2] she focused on topics such as healthcare reform.[13] She criticized the Affordable Care Act as lacking of physician involvement in the drafting of the legislation, arguing it needed to be overhauled or shut down.[3] She received the endorsement of the Santa Clara and Alameda Republican Party,[10] as well as House Republicans including congressmen Pete Sessions and Eric Cantor, and she was named "one to watch" by the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.[10]

Voters began casting ballots by mail on May 3[10] and on June 4 Honda and Ro Khanna were the top finishers in the election, followed by Singh with 16 percent of the vote.[11]

California's 17th congressional district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mike Honda (incumbent) 43,607 48.2
Democratic Ro Khanna 25,384 28.0
Republican Vanila Singh 15,359 17.0
Republican Joel VanLandingham 6,154 6.8
Total votes 90,504 100.0

Later political roles

In August 2014, Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari named Singh the chair of his "Indo American Coalition team" while campaigning against incumbent Jerry Brown.[15] In July 2016, the press reported that Singh was serving as a California delegate at the Republican National Convention.[17] In September, the Economic Times also reported that she was "actively working with national lawmakers on health policy issues."[1] Singh has since published several chapters and government papers on the opioid crisis.[52]

Personal life

A resident of the Bay Area of California, Singh is married[20] with two children.[21]

Awards and achievements

On October 16, 2021, Dr. Singh was awarded the Standiford Helm Award honoring individuals advancing the specialty of Interventional Pain Management.[53][54][55] On February 28, 2020, she was awarded the Philipp M. Lippe award from the American Academy of Pain Medicine for outstanding contributions to the social and political aspects of pain medicine.[56][57] In 2018, Singh was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.[58][59][60]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Duttagupta, Ishani (September 18, 2016), "With US election day round the corner, desi techies in Silicon Valley talk politics", The Economic Times, retrieved March 19, 2017
  2. 1 2 3 Marinucci, Carla (January 14, 2014), "Silicon Valley Republican raises $100K for House run", SF Gate, retrieved March 19, 2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dr Vanila Singh joins contentious Silicon Valley House race", South Asian Times, Forsythe Media Group, January 17, 2014, retrieved March 19, 2017
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "With demographics shifting, Congressman Mike Honda faces political challenge of his life", East Bay Times, May 17, 2014, retrieved March 19, 2017
  5. 1 2 3 "Vanila M. Singh M.D., MACM". HHS.gov. 7 July 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Notable People". News Center.
  7. 1 2 Health (ASH), Assistant Secretary for (2019-05-30). "Pain Management Task Force Issues Final Report on Best Practices for Treatment of Pain". HHS.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  8. 1 2 "Annual CxO Summit 2018". Northern California Chapter of HIMSS. 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  9. 1 2 Health (ASH), Assistant Secretary for (2007-05-31). "Region 9". HHS.gov. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Marinucci, Carla (April 25, 2014), "Vanila Singh uses odd tactics in Silicon Valley House race", SFGate, retrieved March 19, 2017
  11. 1 2 Silicon Valley Rep. Mike Honda, Challenger Ro Khanna Advance To November Election, CBS San Francisco, June 3, 2014, retrieved March 19, 2017
  12. ↑ Klein, Joe (May 15, 2014), "California's New Jungle Primary System", Time, retrieved March 19, 2017
  13. 1 2 3 Duttagupta, Ishani (February 16, 2014), "Ro Khanna vs Vanila Singh: Indian-Americans may clash for a Congressional seat in Silicon Valley", The Economic Times, retrieved March 19, 2017
  14. ↑ Henderson, Nia-Malika (June 3, 2014), "The women to watch for in Tuesday's primary battles", Washington Post, retrieved March 19, 2017
  15. 1 2 Sohrabji, Sunita (August 25, 2014), "Neel Kashkari Names Vanila Singh to Head Coalition", India-West, retrieved March 19, 2017
  16. 1 2 3 "Vanila Singh to Head Republican Candidate Neel Kashkari's Coalition Team", India.com, September 5, 2014, retrieved March 19, 2017
  17. 1 2 Anthony, Laura (July 18, 2016), Contentious no-vote against Trump leads off RNC, ABC News, retrieved March 19, 2017
  18. 1 2 3 Bio – Vanila Singh, Stanford University, retrieved June 8, 2017
  19. ↑ 2016–2017 SCCMA Committees, Santa Clara County Medical Association, 2017, retrieved March 19, 2017
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dutt, Ela (2014), "Another Physician Enters Race for Congress in California", New India Times, retrieved March 26, 2017
  21. 1 2 Singh, Vanila (May 5, 2014), "Dr. Vanila Singh: School choice is the key to student success", Mercury News, retrieved March 26, 2017
  22. ↑ Reporter, SUNITA SOHRABJI/India-West Staff. "Former HHS Official Vanila Singh Receives Prestigious Award for Work in Pain Management Amid Opioid Crisis". India West. Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  23. ↑ "Members Appointed to New Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force". HHS.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. May 1, 2018. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "Federal Task Force Releases 'Roadmap' to Treat Pain Crisis". Pain News Network. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  25. ↑ "AMA calls pain task force recommendations a road map for future policy". American Medical Association. Chicago. May 9, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Lucid Lane has developed a service to get patients off of pain meds and avoid dependence". TechCrunch. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  27. ↑ Reporter, SUNITA SOHRABJI/India-West Staff. "Former HHS Official Vanila Singh Receives Prestigious Award for Work in Pain Management Amid Opioid Crisis". India West. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  28. ↑ "BioDelivery Sciences Appoints Dr. Vanila Singh, Former Chief Medical Officer of Health and Human Services, to its Board of Directors | BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc". ir.bdsi.com. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  29. ↑ "BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc (BDSI)". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  30. ↑ "Vanila M. Singh, MD, MACM Elected to Virpax(R) Pharmaceuticals' Board of Directors". BioSpace. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  31. ↑ "Vanila M. Singh, MD, MACM Elected to Virpax(R) Pharmaceuticals' Board of Directors |". 9 July 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  32. ↑ "Former HHS chief medical officer hopeful COVID vaccine process will improve". Fox Business. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  33. ↑ "Should students return to schools as child hospitalizations rise?". Fox Business. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  34. ↑ "CDC 'losing' public's confidence over mixed messaging: Doctor". Fox Business. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  35. ↑ "More lockdowns would be 'very tough' for mental health: Dr. Singh". Fox Business. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  36. ↑ "Pending approval of Moderna coronavirus vaccine is 'only good news': Doctor". Fox Business. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  37. ↑ "Dr. Singh Discusses of Dangers of Fentanyl this Spring Break with Newsy's Chance Seales". DR. VANILA SINGH, MD. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  38. ↑ "Quality of Life Should Always Be the Metric..." DR. VANILA SINGH, MD. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  39. ↑ "Pfizer's Antiviral Treatment, Vaccines and More". DR. VANILA SINGH, MD. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  40. ↑ "Videos". KTVU FOX 2. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  41. ↑ "What does it mean for COVID-19 to be endemic?". Associated Press. 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  42. ↑ "As 'stealth omicron' advances, scientists are learning more". Associated Press. 2022-02-24. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  43. ↑ Vanila Singh and Nicholas Kardaras, opinion contributors (2022-03-17). "The war at home: The attack on our mental health". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-04-25. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  44. ↑ Eric D. Hargan and Vanila M. Singh, opinion contributors (2021-08-20). "For the sake of our mental health, the next lockdown has to be different". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-04-25. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  45. ↑ Sen. Bill Cassidy, M. D. (2019-11-20). "Following massacre of Americans, we need a new strategy to defeat drug cartels". The Hill. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  46. ↑ "Opinion | Here's how college students can return to campus in the fall". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  47. ↑ "Misguided federal regulations are likely to cause more pain in people already living with it". STAT. 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  48. ↑ Singh, Dr Vanila (2020-05-11). "Prioritizing our veterans is central to restoring America". American Military News. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  49. ↑ McCarthy, Matthew (March 3, 2022). "13 Silicon Valley Innovators Who Keep Surprising And Inspiring Us". Silicon Valley. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  50. ↑ Pellek, Alexis (October 25, 2021). "Meet the Women Changing Pain Medicine". Practical Pain Management. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  51. ↑ "Ro Khanna trails behind Mike Honda, Vanila Singh: Poll", The Indian Eye, March 7, 2014, retrieved March 26, 2017
  52. ↑ "Advancing the Practice of Pain Management HHS Opioid Strategy". HHS.gov. 1 November 2017.
  53. ↑ @VanilaSingh (October 19, 2021). "So honored 4 prestigious Standiford Helm Award..." (Tweet). Retrieved 2023-03-28 – via Twitter.
  54. ↑ "CalSIPP Annual Meeting Program" (PDF). CalSIPP.
  55. ↑ "OCMA Blog | Award Created for OCMA Past President". www.ocma.org. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  56. ↑ Sohranji, Sunita. "Former HHS Official Vanila Singh Receives Prestigious Award for Work in Pain Management Amid Opioid Crisis". India West.
  57. ↑ "Philipp M. Lippe, MD Award". AAPM.
  58. ↑ "ASIPP Enews". myemail.constantcontact.com. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  59. ↑ "BioDelivery Sciences Appoints Dr. Vanila Singh, Former Chief Medical Officer of Health and Human Services, to its Board of Directors | BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc". ir.bdsi.com. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  60. ↑ ASIPP [@asipp] (March 22, 2018). "Dr. Vanila Singh, Chief Medical Officer, US Department of Health and Human Services, gave a presentation on The Opioid Crisis and Pain Management and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award last week at ASIPP's 20th Annual Meeting" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-11-18 – via Twitter.
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