Highlights from the 47th Merrimon Lecture
Robert Califf, MD, MACC, is an Instructor in Medicine in Cardiology and a former intensivist and practicing cardiologist. He served as FDA Commissioner (2016–2017 and 2022-24) and previously held leadership roles at Duke University, including founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute and Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Medicine. He was also head of clinical strategy for Verily and Google Health in the Alphabet family of companies between 2017 and 2022. A leading expert in cardiovascular medicine and clinical research, he has authored over 1,200 peer-reviewed publications.
The lecture will address the combination of financialization and sub optimization of U.S. healthcare that is creating wealth in owners and “middle people” while inducing substantial moral injury in front line clinicians and public health professionals. These same factors are contributing to the decline in trust in healthcare institutions and the rapid growth of alternative approaches to health, including substantial misinformation. Suggested approaches to balance these problems with professional ethics will be discussed.
Selected Publications
Evidence About Benefits and Risks of Vaccines: Challenges in Science, Medicine, Public Health, and Culture.
JAMA Cardiology · November 1, 2025
Evidence, Opinion, and Uncertainty About COVID-19 Vaccines.
JAMA Internal Medicine · October 27, 2025
Recent Updates to the Declaration of Helsinki: A View from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science · September 2025
The Promise of Real-World Data for Research – What Are We Missing?
New England Journal of Medicine· July 24, 2025
A Quarter Century of ACS Guidelines: Gaps Within Evidence Gaps.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology · June 10, 2025
Modernizing Research and Evidence Consensus Definitions: A Food and Drug Administration-National Institutes of Health Collaboration.
JAMA Network Open · June 2, 2025
Improving Medical Device Safety Surveillance: Bridging Capability and Commitment.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology · May 6, 2025
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the presenter, they do not necessarily reflect the views of the contracted organization, department, School of Medicine, nor the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.