Dr. Robert Califf Nominated to be Next FDA Commissioner

On Tuesday, President Obama announced that he would be nominating Dr. Robert Califf to be the next commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Califf joined FDA in February as FDA Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. He was brought on by former commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg to provide executive leadership to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Tobacco Products. A key part of his role was to provide high-level advice and policy direction on the agency’s medical product and tobacco priorities.

While FDA oversees a wide range of products, one of the issues that will most likely get decided under the watch of the next commissioner will be the potential regulation of premium cigars, something that has been in the works since the spring of 2014.

Prior to joining FDA, Califf was the vice chancellor of clinical and translational research at Duke University. He would succeed Hamburg, who resigned at the end of March. Since then, FDA has been overseen by Stephen Ostroff, the agency’s former chief scientist.

Califf’s nomination now goes before the U.S. Senate for confirmation.