Statement from President Joe Biden Announcing His Intention to Nominate Dr. Robert Califf for Commissioner of Food and Drugs

I first want to thank Dr. Janet Woodcock for her leadership over the last year. She has done an incredible job leading the agency during what has been a busy and challenging time, and both she and the FDA career staff have worked hard and followed the science to ensure the American public can trust the decisions being made by the FDA.

Dr. Robert Califf is one of the most experienced clinical trialists in the country, and has the experience and expertise to lead the Food and Drug Administration during a critical time in our nation’s fight to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic. 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. 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. Robert Califf, Nominee for Commissioner of Food and Drugs

Dr. Califf is an internationally recognized expert in clinical trial research, health disparities, healthcare quality, and cardiovascular medicine. He brings nearly four decades of experience as a doctor, researcher, leader, and public servant, including previous service as FDA Commissioner from 2016-2017, for which he was confirmed by the Senate 89-4 with broad bi-partisan support. Currently, Califf is a professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine, where he previously served as Vice Chancellor and founded the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and also works as Head of Clinical Policy at Verily Life Sciences, a life sciences research organization. Dr. Califf has led many landmark clinical trials and is one of the most frequently cited authors in biomedical science, with more than 1,200 publications in the peer-reviewed literature.

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