People

Robert M. Califf, MD, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the FDA's commissioner of Food and Drugs in February. He replaces Margaret Hamburg, MD, who stepped down last March.

Beginning in February 2015, Califf served as the FDA's deputy commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco. While there, he provided executive leadership to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, and the Center for Tobacco Products.

Previously, Califf was a professor of medicine and vice chancellor for clinical and translational research at Duke University. An internationally recognized expert in cardiovascular medicine and clinical research, he also served as director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute and founding director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Nancy E. Davidson, MD, director of Pennsylvania's University of Pittsburgh (UP) Cancer Institute and the UP Medical Center Cancer Center, will begin a 1-year term as president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) at its 2016 Annual Meeting, April 16–20. She will succeed José Baselga, MD, PhD.

A world-renowned breast cancer researcher, Davidson has published key findings on the role of hormones on gene expression and cell growth in breast tumors. She has guided several important national clinical trials of potential new therapies, including chemoendocrine therapy for premenopausal breast cancer, and has increased understanding of the potential of angiogenesis inhibitors for treating metastatic disease.

Davidson has been actively involved with the AACR since 1988. She is a member of the editorial board of Cancer Prevention Research, one of the organization's journals, and has served on numerous other boards and committees.