Margaret Anderson is executive director of FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions, defining the organization's strategic priorities and positions on key issues, developing its programmatic portfolio, and managing its operations. Prior to her appointment as executive director, she was FasterCures' chief operating officer for five years. She has extensive experience in managing biomedical and public health initiatives and facilitating multi-sector collaborations.

In 2011, the Clinical Research Forum recognized Anderson with an award for leadership in public advocacy, a testament to the positive impact of her leadership and FasterCures' vital role in improving the medical research system. She is president of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, co-chairs the eHealth Initiative's Council on Data and Research, is on the board of the National Health Council, and is a member of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Advisory Council, the Cures Acceleration Network Review Board, the National Health Council Board of Directors, United for Medical Research Steering Committee, and the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation. She served as a board member of the Council for American Medical Innovation and the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research.

Anderson joined FasterCures after five years at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington. At AED, she was the deputy director and a team leader in the Center on AIDS & Community Health. Her responsibilities included financial and budget oversight; management of a team, projects, and staff; and strategic planning. She managed a portfolio that consisted of grants and contracts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ford Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Between 1995 and 1998, Anderson was program director for the Society for Women's Health Research. At the society, she managed grant-funded programs, including the startup planning for the multi-year campaign Some Things Only a Woman Can Do to increase women's awareness of and participation in clinical trials, the Get Real: Straight Talk About Women's Health campaign for college campuses to improve young women's health, the Vive La Difference video and facilitator's guide to provide information about sex-based biology, and the annual Scientific Advisory Meeting.

Prior to joining the society, Anderson was a health science analyst at the American Public Health Association (APHA) from 1992 to 1995, where she managed a programmatic portfolio on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, infectious diseases, women's health, and public health infrastructure issues. At APHA, she staffed the AIDS Working Group, the Science Board, and the Long Term Care Task Force, and wrote a series of reports on emerging HIV/AIDS issues.

From 1987 to 1991, Anderson was an analyst and project director at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. As a staff member in the Biological Applications Program, she contributed to studies on the societal implications of genetic testing. She directed reports on genetic and medical testing in the workplace and contributed to reports on forensic uses of DNA testing, cystic fibrosis screening, and U.S. investment in biotechnology. 

Anderson holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in science, technology, and public policy from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.