A 2CI Faculty Q&A:
Patricia J. Zettler
The Second Century Initiative brought more than 80 leading scholars and researchers across a diverse array of disciplines; its successor program, the Next Generation Program, continues to do so. Each faculty member has provided the university with their unique perspectives and leadership in their fields. Their work moves forward important and innovative research and scholarship, while lifting the reputation of Georgia State University and its colleges/schools for work addressing the challenges of the 21st century.
This article is the first in a series highlighting individual faculty members and their perspectives through a question-and-answer format. The first faculty member highlighted in the series is Patricia J. Zettler, Associate Professor in the College of Law and a member of the Center for Law, Health and Society. She first arrived at Georgia State as a hire in the fifth round of 2CI.
Q: Can you tell me briefly about your research and scholarship?
A: My research focuses on the regulation of medicine, medical products, and tobacco products, with an emphasis on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I try to find ways to reach legal, policy, and scientific audiences, including by publishing in legal, medical, and public health journals and collaborating with colleagues from different disciplines.
Q: What first interested you in your field of expertise?
A: I first became interested in science regulation before I even went to law school and became a lawyer — when I worked in the Program in Medical Ethics at the University of California San Francisco. Through that work, I met researchers with legal training doing fascinating work at the intersection of law, ethics, and medicine, such as my current colleague Leslie Wolf, and had the opportunity to work on interesting issues in bioethics, including issues associated with stem cell research. This experience inspired me to pursue a career in law, with a focus on public health and science regulation. In my life as a practicing lawyer, I served as an attorney in the FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel from 2009 to 2013, before pursuing a career in academics and studying and teaching about issues related to public health law and FDA regulation.
Q: What did you find attractive about Georgia State?
A: Georgia State is a dynamic, inspiring place, particularly with its mission of educating students of all backgrounds. Given the inherently interdisciplinary nature of my work (and, in my view, of many public health issues), Georgia State’s clear commitment to supporting and fostering interdisciplinary work was very attractive. At the College of Law specifically, we have a phenomenal health law program—ranked third in the nation by US News this year — with fantastic students, faculty, and staff. This, combined with the institution-wide support for interdisciplinary work and dedication to providing an outstanding education to its students, made Georgia State a natural fit for me.
Q: How have your research and scholarship grown since you first arrived at Georgia State?
A: One way that my research and scholarship has grown is through interdisciplinary collaborations enabled by the institutional support for interdisciplinary work, including the support of former Dean Steven Kaminshine and Dean Wendy Hensel at the College of Law, and Dean Michael Eriksen at the School of Public Health. One great thing about interdisciplinary work is that it enables us to learn from our colleagues’ expertise and produce research that ultimately can have a bigger real world impact, because problems in the real world inevitably cross disciplines.
Q: What sorts of collaborations have you been able to build at Georgia State, both within the university and outside of the institution?
A: Since arriving at Georgia State, I have been fortunate to start several fruitful collaborations both within and outside the institution. Within the institution, I have collaborated with colleagues at the College of Law, for example publishing an article on prescription drug pricing with Erin Fuse Brown and a book chapter for an international audience on food regulation with Tim Lytton. I also have benefited from engaging with colleagues at the School of Public Health and elsewhere in the institution, including recently co-authoring an article with David Ashley at the School of Public Health (and Micah Berman at Ohio State University) about the FDA’s authority to reduce nicotine to non-addictive levels in cigarettes.
And these collaborations are not limited to research, there are also wonderful opportunities to collaborate on teaching. For example, Dr. Ashley was a guest lecturer in my Food and Drug Law class this past spring. Because he was formerly the Director of the Office of Science at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, it was a great way for my students to learn about the agency’s work from the perspective of a scientist.
Outside the institution, I have collaborated with colleagues at Stanford Law School, Harvard, the University of Virginia, the University of Pennsylvania, the Ohio State University, the University of Missouri, New York Law School, and Aix-Marseille University, some at law schools, some at medical schools, and some at public health schools. These collaborations have resulted in research covering a wide range of topics including the opioid epidemic, new vaping technologies, and the recently enacted federal “Right to Try Act” regarding terminally ill patients’ access to experimental medicines that the FDA has not approved.
Regardless of whether inside or outside the institution, these collaborations have provided opportunities to engage in impactful interdisciplinary scholarship.
Q: What new developments do you foresee with your research/scholarly development in the future?
A: Because of my interests, it can be difficult to foresee research developments — emerging technologies inevitably arise and pose challenges for regulators, such as the FDA. I hope to continue working on issues related to science and public health regulation, and find additional ways to collaborate with colleagues at GSU and elsewhere.