Who: Dr. Robert Califf, 63
Next role: Nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. He would replace Dr. Margaret Hamburg, who stepped down early this year.
Current position: Califf has been the FDA's deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco— essentially the No. 2 role—since February. Before joining the agency, he spent more than 30 years as a prominent cardiologist and medical researcher at Duke University, including serving as vice chancellor of clinical and translational research for nine years. While at Duke, Califf led efforts aimed at improving research processes, including the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, a public-private partnership co-founded by the FDA and Duke.
Heir apparent: Since he was named deputy commissioner, it was widely expected that Califf would be the leading candidate for the top job, given his clinical background and leadership in medical-device and pharmaceutical research, and the timing of his appointment just days before Hamburg stepped down. Among his many roles, he served on the Institute of Medicine committee that recommended Medicare coverage of clinical trials, as well as the IOM Committee on Identifying and Preventing Medication Errors and the IOM Health Sciences Policy Board.
