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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know News India Times (September 13, 2025 - September 19, 2025) September 19, 2025 10 US Affairs FDA Official Vinay Prasad Regains Chief Medical Officer Title T op Food and Drug Administration regula- tor Vinay Prasad has regained his role as the agency’s chief medical and scientific officer after he abruptly departed and then came back to the agency, according to an update on the agency’s website Thursday, September 11, 2025. Prasad returned as the agency’s top regulator for vaccines and gene therapies as head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research on Aug. 9. The addi- tional chief medical officer role expands his influence and includes representing the agency’s perspective on medical and scientific matters. The position is also listed as having a leadership role in choosing which companies will benefit from a program to acceler- ate some drug reviews if they align with the agency’s priorities. Department of Health and Human Services spokes- person Rich Danker confirmed that Prasad had resumed his position as chief medical and scientific officer. Prasad unexpectedly left the agency on July 29 after a conservative backlash in part over his handling of safety issues with Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s gene ther- apy. Laura Loomer, an ally of President Donald Trump, had said he was not aligned with the president’s agenda and aggressively lobbied against his return. Though Prasad was in his role for less than three months before his ouster, he managed to stir contro- versy at the agency. He demanded more studies of Covid vaccines, overruled his own scientific review staff and took a confrontational approach that gave critics fodder to claim he could stymie scientific innovation. -Bloomberg By Rachel Cohrs Zhang PHOTO:FDA.GOV Vinay Prasad, FDA’s Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Community Punjabi Cultural Society Of Chicago Hosts Successful Declamation Contest T he Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago (PCS) hosted a “Decla- mation Contest” for youth Sep- tember 7, 2025, at the National India Hub, in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago Illinois. The theme of the speeches was “Punjab.” The event was attended by an audience of about one hundred community members, organiz- ers said in a press release. The speech contest was for students of elementary, middle, and high school categories. It saw enthusiastic partici- pation from community youth across various schools, who were eager to show their oratory skills and passion for public speaking. The contest featured three distin- guished judges Dr. Amrik Singh Sohi, Harinder Pal Singh and Satnaam Singh Mago who evaluated the performances and pro- vided valuable feedback to the participants. The participants were allowed to speak in Pun- jabi, English or Hindi. Cash awards were given to the first, second, and third place winners in each category of stu- dents, recognizing their exceptional talent and hard work. In the high school category, Ava Kaur Sil- verstein bagged the first place prize, Jaskirat Singh Soodan and Avni Kaur were tied for sec- ond place and Harsimran Kaur received the third place prize. In the middle school category, the first place prize went to Natalia Kumar, the second place to Sukhmeet Kaur and the third place to Navroop Kaur. In the elementary school category the first place prize was won by Khem Kaur Sohi, the second place by Prabhdeep Singh Maken, and the third place by Simardeep Singh Maken. PCS Declamation Contest 2025. Il- linois State Reprepresentative Michelle Mussman with Rajinder Bir Singh Mago Illinois State Representative District 56, Michelle Mussman graced the event as the guest of honor. Representative Mussman addressed the competitors, offering words of encouragement and inspiration and answered questions from the audience. She also had the honor of distributing certificates of participation to all the participants and presenting the awards to the winners in each category. The judges shared their remarks, commending the participants for their dedication and impres- sive performances. The event concluded with a pizza dinner for the par- ticipants, their families, and guests. The event was orga- nized by the P.C.S. board of trustees under the leadership of president Navtej Singh Sohi. By a StaffWriter PHOTOS:Asian Media USA PCS Declamation Contest 2025. All the participants pose for a group photo. PCS Declamation Contest 2025-Judges Satnaam Singh Mago, Dr Amrik Singh Sohi, Harinder Pal Singh. PCS Declamation Contest 2025. Illinois State Reprepresentative Michelle Mussman with Rajinder Bir Singh Mago.