Carlos Peña, PhD, MS, is Chief Regulatory Officer and Chief Quality Officer, leading the newly-established Offices of Regulatory Services and Office of Quality Services at the Jacobs Institute.  Carlos served 20+ years as a public servant in federal government. Prior to the JI, Carlos served as the Director of the Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices, at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), based in the Washington, DC area.

He was responsible for providing leadership in the development of safe and effective neurological and physical medicine devices to support FDA’s mission. Carlos provided oversight over several cross-functional teams and was the lead contact for the agency’s strategic plans and implementation efforts for neuro devices.

Before his FDA Director role, Carlos served as Assistant Director of Emerging Technologies in the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Executive Office of President Obama for two years (2012-2014). Prior to the White House, Carlos began his career ascension at the FDA, starting out as a Lead Reviewer, Team Leader, and Acting Branch Chief for CDRH, before moving into the role of Science Policy Analyst and, finally, the Director of Emerging Technology Programs in the FDA Commissioner’s Office.

Carlos holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Case Western Reserve University and a Masters degree in Comparative Physiology from the University of Connecticut. He holds an Emergency Medical Technician license in West Virginia and currently volunteers as a Fire Fighter and for Emergency Medical Services in both New York and West Virginia.

He has relocated to Buffalo in the Allentown area and looks forward to all that Buffalo has to offer.