21 U.S.C. § 399a: Office of the Chief Scientist

The Secretary shall establish within the Office of the Commissioner an office to be known as the Office of the Chief Scientist. The Secretary shall appoint a Chief Scientist to lead such Office. oversee, coordinate, and ensure quality and regulatory focus of the intramural research programs of the Food and Drug Administration; track and, to the extent necessary, coordinate intramural research awards made by each center of the Administration or science-based office within the Office of the Commissioner, and ensure that there is no duplication of research efforts supported by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration; develop and advocate for a budget to support intramural research; develop a peer review process by which intramural research can be evaluated; representatives of each of the centers and the science-based offices within the Office of the Commissioner; and experts on trial design, epidemiology, demographics, pharmacovigilance, basic science, and public health; and develop postmarket safety performance measures that are as measurable and rigorous as the ones already developed for premarket review.