Robert Califf
President Barack Obama today announced his intent to nominate Rob Califf as the commissioner of food and drugs, the highest ranking post at the Food And Drug Administration.

FDA regulates most foods except for the meat, poultry and egg products that are regulated by the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

If confirmed by the Senate, Califf would succeed Margaret Hamburg, who resigned.

Stephen Ostroff, the FDA chief scientist, has been the acting commissioner since Hamburg left.

Califf, a physician, has been FDA deputy commissioner for medical products and tobacco, a position he has held since March 2015.

He served in various capacities at Duke University School of Medicine and the Duke University Medical Center between 1982 and 2015.

At the School of Medicine, he served as vice chancellor, director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, which he founded in 2006, and as professor of medicine.

He also served as the director of the Cardiac Care Unit at the Duke University Medical Center.

He founded the Duke University Clinical Research Institute in 2006 and served as its director, and also served on the executive committee of the Duke Health System.

He has served in a number professional organizations, including committees of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM), the IOM Clinical Research Roundtable, the IOM Committee on Medication Errors, and the IOM Board on Health Sciences Policy.

He served on the FDA’s cardio renal advisory committee from 1996 to 2000 and on the FDA’s Science Board Working Group from 2007 to 2008.

Califf received a bachelor of science and a doctor of medicine from Duke University.