Nandini Rakala PhD U.S. FDA

Dr. Nandini Rakala is a Mathematician and Data Scientist, currently working as a Visiting Associate within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research - Office of Pharmaceutical Quality at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Rakala earned her PhD in Operations Research from the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Florida Institute of Technology in May 2020, specializing in Multi-Objective Optimization-based Machine Learning. She holds a master's degree in applied mathematics and computing, and a bachelor's degree in mathematics with honors from India. With over six years of experience at the U.S. FDA, Dr. Rakala has contributed to multidisciplinary regulatory research projects, combining quantitative reasoning with expertise in Artificial Intelligence, advanced analytics, programming, and pharmaceutical manufacturing quality systems. She serves as an analytics team lead, AI reviewer, developer, and subject matter expert on post-market quality surveillance programs, while supporting agency-wide extramural research and development toward innovating regulatory processes to drive greater efficiencies. Dr. Rakala actively contributes to the advancement of pharmaceutical science through invited speaking engagements, serving as session chair, and leading workshops at international industry conferences and academic seminars. Her work in regulatory science and innovation has been recognized through multiple professional awards.