Dr. Robert Califf will return to lead the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a second time after his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 15. Califf previously led the FDA from 2016 to 2017.
Dr. Robert Califf. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.A cardiologist by training, Califf was nominated to lead the FDA by President Joe Biden in November 2021 to replace acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock. Most recently, Califf was senior advisor at Verily Life Sciences and Google Health.
The most recent permanent FDA commissioner was Dr. Stephen Hahn, a radiation oncologist from MD Anderson Cancer Center, who was President Donald Trump's second pick as commissioner after Dr. Scott Gottlieb departed in March 2019.
