Robert Califf
@robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert McKinnon Califf is an American cardiologist who served as the 25th commissioner of food and drugs from 2016 to 2017 and again from 2022 to 2025.
Source: Wikipedia
Medicine
47%
Economics
27%
List of Ig Nobel Prize winners - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
And Dr Topol didn't mention that he was also a recipient of the IgNobel prize in 1993!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
I think the combination using digital support for the individual part could really make it happen.
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
Highly recommend this one. It makes the point over and over that "shaping the environment" to make it easier to do healthy things is likely the key as opposed to lecturing people about individual decisions.
lnkd.in/enxu8m2J
Dan Buettner: A Look Into the Blue Zones
youtube.com
lnkd.in/enxu8m2J
Dan Buettner: A Look Into the Blue Zones
youtube.com
2026 UCSF-Stanford Summit - Debate 2: Should Biosimilars Be Approved
YouTube video by UCSF-Stanford CERSI
www.youtube.com
I thought both debaters did a good job on this one about whether human studies should be required for assessment of biosimilars for consideration of appproval for marketing or whether analytical methods plus post-market real world evidence would suffice.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYJ2...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYJ2...
Can We Create Systems of Rational Healthcare for Children with Serious Illness?
The Case of Congenital Heart Disease
robcaliff272993.substack.com
Thoughts of a parent, grand-parent and great-grandparent! and a cardiologist and policy person. We have the technology. Do we have the humanity and moral compass?
robcaliff272993.substack.com/p/can-we-cre...
robcaliff272993.substack.com/p/can-we-cre...
Universities are interesting places. Happened to be walking across this campus as an annual ritual was unfolding--students moving into tents for a while to have an opportunity to watch basketball games, while parents continue to pay tuition. Yet, everyone is happy and upbeat!
CMS’ new MAHA ELEVATE innovation model has a fundamental flaw
CMS’ new MAHA ELEVATE innovation model has a fundamental flaw, The Workup columnist Vishal Khetpal writes.
www.statnews.com
This might seem subtle, but its not! Good points here about a program that could make a very positive difference.
www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/c...
www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/c...
The MAHA Dietary Guidelines VII: The Documents - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
The 2025-2030 dietary guidelines were released in conjunction with several supporting documents, listed here.
www.foodpolitics.com
As expected, a useful summary and link to key historical documents from Dr Nestle
www.foodpolitics.com/2026/01/the-...
www.foodpolitics.com/2026/01/the-...
Vaccine Integrity Project - Board of Advisors
www.cidrap.umn.edu
Good news for my grandkids and great-grandkids--and for the elderly. A group to be trusted.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-inte...
www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-inte...
Opinion | How RFK Jr. plans to bankrupt vaccine manufacturers
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to flood the vaccine injury compensation program to hurt vaccine access in the U.S.
www.washingtonpost.com
This has been the concern all along. Thanks to the authors for spelling it out so clearly. Hopefully, it won't happen, but we need a plan in case it does.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Starting right: aligning eligibility and treatment assignment at time zero when emulating a target trial
This article provides methodological guidance when emulating a target trial with longitudinal observational data by showing how to align eligibility criteria and treatment assignment at the start of f...
www.bmj.com
This is an important article for "real world evidence" advocates. Time zero estimation is often an Achilles heal of observational studies trying to draw causal inference on effects of treatment. These experts offer helpful insight into methods.
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Scoop: “Nobody in senior leadership at NCIRD saw the revised vaccine schedule," CDC scientist says.
Plus, an exclusive look at the slide deck an NCIRD scientist presented comparing the US pediatric vaccine schedule with those of peer nations. Spoiler: Denmark is the outlier.
open.substack.com
Quite an extraordinary effort to provide sunlight into decision making at HHS.
open.substack.com/pub/insideme...
open.substack.com/pub/insideme...
Reposted by Kathryn A. Phillips
RFK Jr.’s Tuskegee Experiment
RFK Jr. recently directed the CDC to fund a study in West Africa that lays bare his cruelty and dishonesty
open.substack.com
Important reading for medical ethicists and students in the health professions.
open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
www.nytimes.com
Dr Shaffner closes the article with a statement that is too mild for the situation.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/h...
A food politics round up of sorts - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
MAHA has induced food companies to make small changes but these will not improve health without a functioning public health system.
www.foodpolitics.com
Concise summary--a fork in the road is coming up for food policy. Hoping for the best in the new year.
www.foodpolitics.com/2025/12/a-fo...
www.foodpolitics.com/2025/12/a-fo...
On Being Denmark
President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order asking the United States to align itself with other countries and give fewer vaccines. Why?
open.substack.com
Happy New Year--Dr Offit has written a concise summary that makes so much sense. Wishing the best for this year.
open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
Hopefully, the incentives for "big food" will change with the ongoing pressure from multiple fronts.
Its been fascinating to watch football, a sport that seems to bring America together. Almost 100% of advertising on food is for the ultraprocessed type. And the Bowl games that don't have the traditional names like Rose, Orange, Gator are named after ultraprocessed food.
The Pharma Shill Paradox: Who Actually Profits from Vaccine Mistrust
A physician examines the financial anatomy of an insult
substack.com
Well done and important to digest. There is plenty of human failing in any human endeavor, but the narrative and the reality in this specific situation needs sunlight.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Kathryn A. Phillips
How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?
www.nytimes.com
It took a lot of imagination to maximize the human suffering while not saving any money when the dust settled. Hope this is wisely read.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
New York Giants team doctor: Clinics offering ‘miracle injections,' ‘next generation cell therapies’ are selling false hope
“As head team physician for the New York Giants, I routinely have athletes asking about supposed ‘breakthrough’ stem cell treatments,” writes Scott Rodeo.
www.statnews.com
So glad to see this article. Needs to be said over and over. Nice graphic also!
www.statnews.com/2025/12/18/r...
www.statnews.com/2025/12/18/r...