Peter Lurie (he/him/his) is the President and Executive Director of CSPI. He has overall responsibility for CSPI’s operations in both program (national, state, and local policy and advocacy; legislative and regulatory affairs; agricultural biotechnology; and Litigation) and business (marketing; development; human resources; finance; customer service; and information systems). He also oversees CSPI’s science and communications activities and is the Executive Editor of Nutrition Action. He works closely with CSPI’s Board of Directors and represents CSPI before the public, funders, and the press.

Prior experience

Previously, Lurie was the Associate Commissioner for Public Health Strategy and Analysis at the Food and Drug Administration, where he worked on antimicrobial resistance, transparency, caffeinated beverages, arsenic in rice, fish consumption by pregnant and nursing women, expanded access to investigational drugs, and prescription drug abuse.  Prior to that, he was Deputy Director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, where he addressed drug and device issues, coauthored the organization’s Worst Pills, Best Pills consumer guide to medications, and led efforts to reduce worker exposure to hexavalent chromium and beryllium.  Earlier, as a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Michigan, he studied needle exchange programs, ethical aspects of mother-to-infant HIV transmission studies, and other HIV policy issues domestically and abroad.

Joined CSPI

Peter joined CSPI in September 2017.

What's the most inspiring part of your job?

"The most exciting parts of my job are adapting my scientific and medical skills to advance the public health and creating a work environment in which collective, collegial activity is promoted."