Former FDA Commissioner; Physician, Researcher, and Healthcare Policy Leader
Dr. Robert Califf brings an unparalleled perspective on the future of healthcare, having led the FDA through pivotal moments in public health, medical innovation, and regulatory policy. Combining decades of experience as a physician, researcher, healthcare executive, and policymaker, he helps audiences understand the forces reshaping medicine—from artificial intelligence and drug development to healthcare economics and public trust. Event planners value his ability to translate complex healthcare challenges into clear, actionable insights for healthcare, business, academic, and policy audiences alike.
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FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf Discusses Nutrition Labeling on Food Packages
Public trust is one of the most critical—and fragile—foundations of effective healthcare and public policy. Drawing on his experience as former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, leader of major clinical research initiatives, and healthcare executive at Google Health and Verily, Dr. Robert Califf examines the growing erosion of confidence in science, medicine, and public institutions.
In this timely presentation, Dr. Califf explores the forces driving skepticism toward scientific expertise, the impact of misinformation and emerging technologies, and the ethical challenges facing healthcare leaders, policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders. He offers practical insights on how organizations can strengthen transparency, improve communication, and make evidence-based decisions in an increasingly complex environment. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what it will take to restore trust, advance innovation responsibly, and improve health outcomes in a rapidly changing world.
As financial incentives increasingly shape the U.S. healthcare system, healthcare leaders, clinicians, and policymakers face growing challenges in maintaining trust, ethics, and patient-centered care. Drawing on his experience as former FDA Commissioner and one of the nation’s leading voices in healthcare policy and clinical research, Dr. Robert Califf examines how financialization, misinformation, artificial intelligence, and evolving technologies are transforming healthcare delivery and public confidence in medical institutions. He offers insights into restoring trust, strengthening evidence-based decision-making, and keeping patient outcomes at the center of healthcare policy and practice.
Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, was the Commissioner of Food and Drugs from February 2016 to January 2017 and from February 2022 to January 2025. He is currently Instructor in Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. Between his 2 stints at FDA, Dr. Califf was the head of medical policy and strategy for Alphabet’s subsidiaries Verily and Google Health. Previously, Dr. Califf served as the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco from February 2015 until his appointment as Commissioner in February 2016.
Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Califf was a professor of medicine and vice chancellor for clinical and translational research at Duke University. He also served as director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute and founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. A nationally and internationally recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine, health outcomes research, healthcare quality, and clinical research, 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.
Dr. Califf became a Member of the National Academy of Medicine (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM)) in 2016, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. Dr. Califf has served on numerous IOM committees, and he has served as a member of the FDA Cardiorenal Advisory Panel and FDA Science Board’s Subcommittee on Science and Technology. Dr. Califf has also served on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Library of Medicine, as well as on advisory committees for the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Council of the National Institute on Aging.
While at Duke, Dr. Califf led major initiatives aimed at improving methods and infrastructure for clinical research, including the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI), a public-private partnership co-founded by the FDA and Duke. He also served as the principal investigator for Duke’s Clinical and Translational Science Award and the NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory coordinating center.
Dr. Califf is a graduate of Duke University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a fellowship in cardiology at Duke.
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Newt Gingrich, Distinguished Leader, Visionary, & Political Vanguard; 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate; Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995-1999); Best-Selling Author
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American Property Casualty Insurance Association
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Texas American Resources Company
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Financial Horizons
