Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC
President Joseph Biden has nominated Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, for the position of Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Califf is an internationally recognized expert in clinical trial research, health disparities, health-care quality, and cardiovascular medicine. Appointment as FDA Commissioner will require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
“As the FDA considers many consequential decisions around vaccine approvals and more, it is mission critical that we have a steady, independent hand to guide the FDA. I am confident Dr. Califf will ensure that the FDA continues its science and data driven decision-making,” President Biden said in a statement. “Dr. Califf had strong bipartisan support in the Senate in 2016, and I urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Dr. Califf, so he can continue the important work being done at this critical moment.”
Dr. Califf is currently Senior Advisor for Verily Life Sciences, a life sciences research organization, and Google Health. He served previously as FDA Commissioner from 2016 to 2017, following a 1-year appointment as the FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. Prior to his work at the FDA, Dr. Califf, a cardiologist, was the Donald F. Fortin, MD, Professor of Medicine and Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, and Founding Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, a $200 million center that manages clinical trials in more than 64 countries.
While at Duke, Dr. Califf was also instrumental in launching the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, a public-private partnership cofounded by the FDA and Duke University School of Medicine to identify and promote practices that will increase the quality and efficiency of clinical trials. He also served as the principal investigator for Duke’s Clinical and Translational Science Award and the National Institutes of Health’s Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory, which aims to create a new infrastructure for collaborative research with health-care systems to improve the way clinical trials are conducted.
Watch future issues of The ASCO Post for more news about Dr. Califf.
