Robert Califf
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Robert Califf
@robcaliff.bsky.social
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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%
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robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18h
Another useful update from YLE. Includes a poll on future update on deep dive on menopause.

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...
Infant formula botulism cluster, black box warning for HRT, flu is waking up, new blood pressure guidelines, and more
This is your weekly Dose.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Randall A. Kramer

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 1d
More good news for coffee enthusiasts from my specialty!

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Caffeinated Coffee Consumption or Abstinence to Reduce Atrial Fibrillation
This clinical trial compares the effect of caffeinated coffee consumption vs abstinence from coffee and caffeine on recurrent atrial fibrillation.
jamanetwork.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 2d
Nice description of the clinical science.

open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
Vaccine Immunity vs. Infection Out in the Wild
What’s the real difference between immunity from vaccines and immunity from infection?
open.substack.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 3d
Thoughts on medical interventions for long-term prevention.

open.substack.com/pub/robcalif...
Medicines for Primordial Prevention: Finding the Sweet Spot for a 21st Century Consensus
The 20th century and the first part of the 21st century have been marked by significant improvements in life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE), both globally and in the United States.
open.substack.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 3d
YLE calling for action to promote science, public health and evidence based policy.

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...
A good defense demands offense
And what it looks like
open.substack.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 5d
Brief explainer from Dr Nestle

www.foodpolitics.com/2025/11/wher...
Where are we on SNAP funding? - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
It's hard to keep up with the fate of SNAP benefits during the shutdown. The administration says it can't fund SNAP but courts say otherwise.
www.foodpolitics.com

Reposted by Robert M. Califf

jama.com
JAMA @jama.com · 5d
The JAMA Summit on Firearm Violence gathered experts from medicine, policy, engineering, and community groups to develop a plan for reducing firearm harms by 2040.

Learn more in this Special Communication: ja.ma/43hclqa
JAMA report cover: "Toward a Safer World by 2040: The JAMA Summit Report on Reducing Firearm Violence and Harms." An illustration shows a city map shaped like a handgun. Published online November 3, 2025.

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 6d
Back to Pasteur. Raw milk is not our largest public health issue, but the purported benefits are hypothetical and not empirically proven and the risks are basic.

open.substack.com/pub/pauloffi...
See No Evil
Why did RFK Jr. limit the reporting of certain foodborne illnesses?
open.substack.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 7d
important perspectives

open.substack.com/pub/holdenth...
What I learned talking to MAHA moms
Was honored to be on the "Why Should I Trust You?" podcast
open.substack.com

Reposted by Robert M. Califf, Trevon D. Logan

steverattner.bsky.social
Steve Rattner @steverattner.bsky.social · 10d
Nearly a fifth of American households with children rely on SNAP to buy groceries.

cc: @washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Robert M. Califf

steverattner.bsky.social
Steve Rattner @steverattner.bsky.social · 10d
This weekend, 12% of Americans are set to lose crucial food assistance due to the govt shutdown — the majority of them are children or elderly.

Cc:
@washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Robert M. Califf, Robert C. Richards

erictopol.bsky.social
Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 10d
We've just launched the first large, site-less (home, direct to participant) randomized trial for treatment of #LongCovid, testing tirzepatide (a GLP-1 drug) vs placebo. Please help spread the word
www.scripps.edu/news-and-eve...
Scripps Research scientists launch new digital clinical trial to test repurposed drug for long COVID symptom relief
www.scripps.edu

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 11d
A cautionary warning

www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/c...
Health care workers under 65 must be vaccinated against Covid
The vaccination status of health care workers under 65 has profound implications for millions of Americans.
www.statnews.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 11d
Really sad to see this, knowing how many people were being helped as the foundation is destroyed.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/s...
Trump cuts have decimated the federal addiction and mental health agency
The Trump administration has dismantled big chunks of the federal agency focused on mental health and addiction treatment, reducing its staff by more than half
www.statnews.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 11d
Minimizing the nonfatal toll of Covid 19 infection would be a big mistake.

www.nature.com/articles/s44...
COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of new-onset vascular dementia in adults ≥50 years - npj Dementia
npj Dementia - COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of new-onset vascular dementia in adults ≥50 years
www.nature.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 12d
A view on Covid vaccines--its decision time.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Evidence, Opinion, and Uncertainty About COVID-19 Vaccines
This issue of JAMA Internal Medicine includes a Research Letter by Du and colleagues1 reporting findings that once again demonstrate that vaccination with a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster with an updated ...
jamanetwork.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 13d
Tempted to say this is too logical to carry the day.

open.substack.com/pub/theunbia...
The Food Additive Wars
Why a Patchwork of State Bans Creates More Problems Than It Solves
open.substack.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 13d
Dr Nestle raises an unsettling question

www.foodpolitics.com/2025/10/is-r...
Is RFK, Jr's interest in food just a smokescreen? - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
A MAHA official says interest in food issues is a cover for RFK, Jr's real agenda---getting rid of vaccines.
www.foodpolitics.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18d
"We should be building on its extraordinary life-saving pandemic success, not turning our back on it!"

open.substack.com/pub/erictopo...
How mRNA Vaccines Can Help Fight Cancer
Turning "cold" tumors "hot"
open.substack.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18d
i'll have more to say about this on substack as I obviously don't believe that working with industry to develop and evaluate products is bad. In my view, its so dependent on transparency and balance among different people...

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18d
For those who thought RFK Jr would "clean up" industry connections, this is worth a read and reflection.

www.foodpolitics.com/2025/10/http...
Trump food officials with ties to industry: Civil Eats has a list. - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
Many of the president’s top officials at the USDA, EPA, HHS, and FDA have connections to chemical, agribusiness, or fossil fuel interests.
www.foodpolitics.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18d
Sometimes these surprises from empirical studies are bad and sometimes they are good, but there is only one way to know-adequate and well-controlled clinical studies.

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18d
"Unknown unknowns" in well-done medicine are resolved through empirical evidence from well-designed and conducted studies, something that was codified in U.S. law for drugs, biologics and devices, but not for dietary supplements or food.

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 18d
This is fascinating. Hard to prove, but the protean effects of "GLP1's" points out how surprised we are when we perturb the human system with an intervention.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes by baseline and changes in adiposity measurements: a prespecified analysis of the SELECT trial
The cardioprotective effects of semaglutide were independent of baseline adiposity and weight loss and had only a small association with waist circumference, suggesting some mechanisms for benefit bey...
www.thelancet.com

Reposted by Mel Bartley

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 19d
This seems so obvious but is said so seldom. Good to see these experts put it out there in plain English.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/h...
The U.S. experiment with profit-driven health care has failed
“The market competition, managed care, and ‘corporate efficiency’ that economists prescribed as the cure for health care inflation instead accelerated it.”
www.statnews.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 19d
This will be a test of whether key federal agencies (USDA, HHS, etc.) can work with academic communities, especially those with strong vet, med and public health schools, and with states and counties to solve this problem.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
Bird Flu Is Back
www.nytimes.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 20d
"if you don't measure it, you can ignore it"....

www.foodpolitics.com/2025/10/http...
Trump administration tries to get rid of NHANES (it may yet succeed) - Food Politics by Marion Nestle
The Trump Administration, in its efforts to downsize government, has once again picked on a little known agency that produces data essential for food system analysis.
www.foodpolitics.com

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 21d
Seems like the lead in protein powder is not much to worry about, but if consumers demand proper testing, it will happen in the absence of Congress passing laws.

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 21d
Testing using well known industry sampling methods would be important also. For supplement implying that health is improved clinical trials would be helpful to the public to decide where to spend money.

robcaliff.bsky.social
Robert Califf @robcaliff.bsky.social · 21d
Useful stuff from YLE. At a minimum I hope there will be popular demand for registering supplements and putting their ingredients in the label.

open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...
Lead in protein powders, governors unite, and mammograms targeted.
In this week's Dose: what's going on with lead in protein powders, 15 governors unite for public health, and the falsehoods swirling around mammograms.
open.substack.com