President Donald Trump on Nov. 1 indicated he will nominate Dr. Stephen Hahn to be the next commissioner of the FDA.
Hahn is a radiation oncology expert and is the current chief medical executive of University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where has been a professor of radiation oncology since January 2015. He specializes in treating lung cancer and sarcoma.
The food and drug agency has been without a permanent head since Scott Gottlieb resigned on April 1. Dr. Ned Sharpless has filled in as acting commissioner, but federal rules allow him to serve at most 210 days as a temporary replacement. He will return to his role as the director of the National Cancer Institute.
The president has not yet submitted Dr. Hahn's nomination to Congress.