HR Records - Dr. Marion Gruber and Dr. Philip Krause (FDA Office of Vaccines Research and Review)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

1. All human resources records related to the retirement, resignation and/or termination of Dr. Marion Gruber, former director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review at FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, including but not limited to drafts and final copies of any separation or retirement agreements. Please make sure to also include all attachments to any emails.

2. All human resources records related to the retirement, resignation and/or termination of Dr. Philip Krause, former deputy director of the Office of Vaccines Research and Review at FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, including but not limited to drafts and final copies of any separation or retirement agreements. Please make sure to also include all attachments to any emails.

The time frame for your search would likely be between July 1, 2021 and Nov. 1, 2021. During your search, it would be a good idea to include communications between the aforementioned parties and CBER director Dr. Peter Marks.

For further clarification about the retirement/resignation records I am seeking, please refer to the following news article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/31/health/fda-vaccine-officials-step-down/index.html

When delivering the responsive documents related to this request, please make sure to specifically certify that no other responsive documents exist beyond those provided by your agency as part of this request.

The requested documents and information will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. Disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

In order to help determine my status to assess fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work is published frequently by print and digital news outlets and magazines. I have previously been classified as a media requester by other federal agencies, including the CDC, when requesting information under the FOIA. You can view my work at www.erinmariemiller.com/clips. As a member of the media, I request a waiver of all fees.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If there is a fee that exceeds that amount, please notify me prior to initiating work on the request.

I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Erin Miller

Hi Sarah,

I'm available at 1:30 p.m. today (1/7/2022). Feel free to call me at the number I left in my voice message.

As far as your question about the communications with Dr. Peter Marks, yes, I would like to include those communications in my request in addition to the other requested information.

Erin Miller

Hi Sarah,

Thank you again for discussing this request with me. Per our conversation, I would still like to confirm whether or not your agency has any of the requested records related to FOIA Control #2022-97, but I will also file a separate request with OPM just in case.

Please don't include any communications with Dr. Marks in this request, unless a search of those communications is relevant to locating the requested records. I will file a separate request for those communications.

Thank you, again!

- Erin Miller

Hi Sarah,

Thank you! I actually already submitted a duplicate request to the OPM after our phone conversation. Thank you for letting me know to contact them.

However, as part of due diligence, I would still like to confirm whether the FDA has any records related to the resignation/retirement of Ms. Gruber and Mr. Krause. Would it be preferable on your end for me to reword the request as "all records" rather than "HR records," in order to confirm whether the FDA does or does not possess any relevant records?

Thanks,

Erin Miller