RDML Emil Wang: Leading, Teaching, and Supporting Students

Published July 22, 2025

If you are looking to engineer a career in regulatory science and need an expert and champion – in the literal and philosophical sense – Emil Wang is committed to your goal.

Rear Admiral Emil Wang is the 15th Engineer Chief Professional Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps – the only uniformed service in the world that is dedicated to public health. He also has been on faculty at Johns Hopkins since 2010 and now serves as a program coordinator and senior lecturer in the MS in Regulatory Science program where he teaches Food and Drug Law, Medical Device and Combination Product Regulation, FDA Premarket Applications, and International Regulatory Affairs.

Since 2022, RDML Wang, who earned his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law, has served as the USPHS Chief Engineer, Assistant Surgeon General. In this capacity, he provides guidance and advice to the U.S. Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services on the recruitment, assignment, deployment, retention, and career development of an elite group of engineers among approximately 5,500 commissioned officers of the Public Health Service. These engineer officers are tasked with protecting, promoting, and advancing the health and safety of the nation at over 30 federal agencies, such as the Indian Health and National Park Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

His 30-year career at FDA includes serving as Senior Regulatory Counsel and Senior Advisor for Manufacturing and Regulatory Policy in the Center for Tobacco Products and previous assignments as an investigator, compliance officer, case expert, branch chief, and division director. He has deployed to Hurricanes Katrina/Rita, Covid-19, and Unaccompanied Children missions.

Since his expertise includes training as an engineer who builds and creates, a scientist who explores and explains, and a lawyer who interprets and advocates, RDML Wang subscribes to an interdisciplinary ethos that directly benefits his students.

“I don’t identify with any defined discrete category and try to impart this to students,” he said. “I have learned as a leader that you must operate outside of your comfort zone and push yourself beyond your boundaries. My career has not been a linear progression, and I think this is true for most people. Through persistence, counseling of mentors, and pursuing opportunities as they arose, I have been able to align my training and career objectives to find a path and purpose.”

For this reason, RDML Wang finds satisfaction in helping others on their own journeys.

“I think the greatest compliment that I can receive is to be recognized as a trusted mentor who encourages and supports a person’s journey – whether it is personal or professional,” RDML Wang said. “I try to be accessible and relatable because – from a student, colleague, or officer standpoint – people can view leaders, including their professors, as being on pedestals. I do not want people to be intimidated or uncomfortable to approach me. I truly want to become part of their network, their support system, and their safety net. It is something I try to convey to everyone I interact with. Being appreciated as a constructive mentor who helps a student work through their challenges so they could grow and thrive – that is the feedback that inspires me.”

RDML Wang also takes tremendous satisfaction in having forged a career in the FDA to help build a federal tobacco regulatory program from the ground up, including leading ground-breaking regulations and policies and building partnerships with other federal and state agencies.

“In the FDA space, establishing regulatory programs and tools take years, if not generations, to build,” said RDML Wang, who is grateful to have been introduced to the FDA and the USPHS during an internship while a Hopkins undergrad and teaching assistant. “Being able to contribute to making tobacco-related death and disease part of our nation’s past by ensuring a healthier future for those living in the U.S. – and its broad public health impact – is what motivates me to keep working in this field. There is still much work here to do.”

And when the time does come for RDML Wang to step away from his FDA post, he intends on continuing in academia with Hopkins.

“Teaching and mentoring students are my core passions,” he said. “In fact, every faculty colleague at Hopkins is an expert in their own right. They engage with, listen to, and supports students. This distinguishes Hopkins as a university and the programs that represent our academic community. The overall learning environment stimulates students to not only understand the concepts and apply their knowledge, but also to care about the importance of the work they are doing.

“I find my reward as a catalyst for students’ professional development – to make them competent professionals and future leaders in this field and to provide guidance to others to help them achieve their objectives and work through their obstacles.”