Robert M. Califf, M.D.

Vice Chancellor for Health Data Science

Former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Donald F. Fortin, M.D. Professor of Cardiology

Duke University School of Medicine

Robert M. Califf, M.D., is an internationally recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine, clinical research, and medical economics. He is a pioneer in translational research.   He is Director of the Forge, Duke’s center for actionable health data science and Senior Advisor at Verily Life Sciences, part of the Alphabet family of companies.

As commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Califf strengthened programs and policies to enable the agency to fulfill its mission to protect and promote the public health.

Prior to the FDA, Dr. Califf served as vice chancellor of clinical and translational research at Duke University School of Medicine and the founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, the world’s largest academic research organization. He also played a pivotal role in the development and leadership of the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, which is designed to enhance the quality and relevance of clinical evidence that is used to guide health decisions. Dr. Califf is chairman of the Board of Directors for the People-Centered Clinical Research Foundation.

Dr. Califf has led many landmark clinical trials and is one of the world’s ten most frequently cited authors in biomedical science, with more than 1,200 publications in the peer-reviewed literature.

Dr. Califf is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University and an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of its School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship in cardiology at Duke. He is board-certified in internal medicine and cardiology, a Master of the American College of Cardiology, and is a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Policy Committee and liaison to the Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation.

Dr. Califf is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors granted in the fields of health and medicine.

He and his wife, Lydia, have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.