VANESSA K. BURROWS is Counsel in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Washington, DC office. She has advised pharmaceutical, medical device, dietary supplement, and tobacco manufacturers in connection with regulatory and compliance needs, as well as M&A and capital-raising transactions. Before entering private practice, Vanessa held several government positions focused on FDA matters, healthcare regulation, and public health. She served as the HIPAA Privacy Officer for the City of Chicago and Attorney for the Chicago Department of Public Health, where she addressed issues including medical countermeasures, emergency preparedness, and quarantine and isolation. Earlier, she advised Members of Congress and their staff on FDA legislation and issues as a Legislative Attorney with the Congressional Research Service. Vanessa handled FDA, healthcare, administrative law and constitutional law matters during the creation and passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, FDA user fee laws, and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.