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# Former FDA Deputy Bumpus Lands at Recursion
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/former-fda-deputy-bumpus-lands-at-recursion/
- Published: 2025-03-21T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T14:55:56.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5158871

Former FDA principal deputy commissioner and second-in-command **Namandjé Bumpus** has joined the board of Recursion, which is a self-described clinical stage “Tech/Bio” company that looks to decode biology to industrialize drug discovery. Bumpus left the agency 12/31/2024, shortly before the new administration came in. Had she stayed, she would have remained FDA’s senior leader and acting commissioner after Commissioner **Robert Califf** departed in January.

Recursion bases its work on Recursion OS, a “platform built across diverse technologies that continuously expands one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets,” according to the company. “Recursion leverages sophisticated machine-learning algorithms to distill from its dataset a collection of trillions of searchable relationships across biology and chemistry unconstrained by human bias… As the company continues to grow its clinical pipeline and enhance its platform, our new board members’ scientific, clinical, business and financial expertise will be an incredible resource in support of our continued success.”

Bumpus was named principal deputy commissioner last year, replacing **Janet Woodcock** after she retired. She was named chief scientist 6/2022 after serving as E.K. Marshall and Thomas H. Maren Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Previously, Bumpus was associate dean for basic research at the same school. “Bumpus’ research has focused on drug metabolism, pharmacogenetics, bioanalytical chemistry, and infectious disease pharmacology,” according to her bio.