President Joe Biden on Nov. 12 nominated Robert Califf, MD, to lead the FDA, a highly anticipated announcement as Janet Woodcock, MD, has been serving as acting head of the agency for more than nine months.
Here are five things to know about the nominee:
- Dr. Califf is a practicing cardiologist and heart disease expert at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University.
- He served as FDA commissioner previously, taking office in February 2016 and leaving when former President Barack Obama's term ended in January 2017. Dr. Califf served as the FDA’s deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco from February 2015 until his appointment as commissioner.
- Dr. Califf has expertise in the clinical trial process, as he served as vice chancellor for clinical and translational health at Duke.
- He was a senior adviser for Google Health and Verily, the life sciences division of Google parent company Alphabet.
- Dr. Califf "is one of the most frequently cited authors in biomedical science," according to the FDA. He has more than 1,200 publications in the peer-reviewed literature.