Henry I. Miller

Biography: 

Henry I. Miller, MS, MD, was the Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy and Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. His research focused on public policy toward science and technology, encompassing a number of areas, including pharmaceutical development, genetic engineering in agriculture, models for regulatory reform, and the emergence of new viral diseases.

Miller served for fifteen years at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a number of posts. He was the medical reviewer for the first genetically engineered drugs to be evaluated by the FDA and thus instrumental in the rapid licensing of human insulin and human growth hormone. Thereafter, he was a special assistant to the FDA commissioner and the founding director of the FDA's Office of Biotechnology. During his government service, Miller participated frequently on various expert and policy panels as a representative of the FDA or the US government. As a government official, Miller received numerous awards and citations.

During his time at the Hoover Institution, Miller has become well known not only for his contributions to scholarly journals but also for his articles and books that make science, medicine, and technology accessible. His work has been widely published in many languages. Monographs include Policy Controversy in Biotechnology: An Insider's View; To America's Health: A Model for Reform of the Food and Drug Administration; and The Frankenfood Myth: How Protest and Politics Threaten the Biotech Revolution. Barron's selected The Frankenfood Myth as one of the 25 Best Books of 2004. In addition, Miller has published extensively in a wide spectrum of scholarly journals and popular publications worldwide, including The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, Science, the Nature family of journals, Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes, National Review, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Guardian, Defining Ideas, and the Financial Times. He was a regulator contributor to Forbes.com and frequently appeared on the nationally syndicated radio programs of John Batchelor and Lars Larson.

Miller was selected by the editors of Nature Biotechnology as one of the people who had made the "most significant contributions" to biotechnology during the previous decade. He serves on numerous editorial boards.

Filter By:

Topic

Type

Recent Commentary

Analysis and Commentary

NPR's Bias Against Genetic Engineering

by Henry I. Millervia Forbes.com
Wednesday, February 1, 2012

This technology is friendly to the environment, reduces CO2 released to the atmosphere and contributes to sustainable agriculture, yet NPR regularly exaggerates its risks and ignores its benefits...

rotten apples

Rotten to the Core

by Henry I. Miller, Jeff Stiervia Hoover Digest
Monday, January 23, 2012

The myth that our fruits and vegetables are tainted by pesticides is just that—a myth. By Henry I. Miller and Jeff Stier.

Analysis and Commentary

Norman Borlaug: The Genius Behind The Green Revolution

by Henry I. Millervia Forbes.com
Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Noel Vietmeyer’s excellent, meticulously researched biography of Norman Borlaug, the plant breeder known as the Father of the Green Revolution, Our Daily Bread, portrays sympathetically one of the great figures of the 20th Century...

When Bureaucarts Stymie Science

by Henry I. Millervia Advancing a Free Society
Saturday, January 14, 2012

“If we can save only one child’s life…” is a phrase frequently used to justify one initiative or another. It has been invoked in recent years to promote causes ranging from the installation of seatbelts in school buses to anti-alcohol campaigns directed at pre-teens.

In the News

When Bureaucrats Stymie Science

by Henry I. Millervia Defining Ideas (Hoover Institution)
Friday, January 13, 2012

The CDC’s policy on the meningococcal vaccine wastes taxpayer dollars and threatens public health...

an image

When Bureaucrats Stymie Science

by Henry I. Miller, Jeff Stiervia Defining Ideas
Friday, January 13, 2012

The CDC’s policy on the meningococcal vaccine wastes taxpayer dollars and threatens public health.

California bureaucrats’ bad chemistry

by Henry I. Millervia Advancing a Free Society
Monday, January 9, 2012

Scientists learn pretty quickly to turn a deaf ear to abuses of fact and distortions of data.

Analysis and Commentary

California bureaucrats' bad chemistry

by Henry I. Millervia Orange County Register
Friday, January 6, 2012

The state's Department of Toxic Substances Control is charged with writing the rulebook for green chemistry...Yet, time after time, the DTSC speaks and writes with no more scientific rigor than a late-night infomercial...

Analysis and Commentary

David Brooks: The Conscience Of A Pseudo-Conservative

by Henry I. Millervia Forbes.com
Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Brooks is a poor excuse for a conservative, but if his fawning over Obama is the result of the president and his minions courting him at every opportunity, he is far worse...

Analysis and Commentary

Can Tiny Amounts Of Poison Actually Be Good For You?

by Henry I. Millervia Forbes.com
Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Toxicology, radiation physics and hormesis are arcane and complex phenomena. An understanding of them requires more than superficial knowledge. If you want to understand all the nuances, get a science degree from M.I.T. Otherwise, learn from the experts — real experts...

Pages