Martin A Makary, MD, MPH
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Dr. Martin Adel Makary, was confirmed on March 25, 2025 by the U.S. Senate as the 27th Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
In this role, Dr. Makary oversees the full breadth of the FDA portfolio and execution of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other applicable laws. This includes assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices; the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation; and the regulation of tobacco products.
Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Makary worked at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and JHU Medical School, where he was a surgical oncologist specializing in hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery. He also served as a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and, by courtesy, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. His academic work also involved a broad range of public policy research including on the underlying causes of disease, health care costs, and relationship-based medicine.
Dr. Makary is a widely published writer, with over 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and he also is a regular contributor to journalistic publications including The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of a number of best-selling books including: “Unaccountable – What Hospitals Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care;” “The Price We Pay,” which examines the issues contributing to the increasing costs of health care; and “Blind Spots -- When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health.” “Unaccountable” was also the inspiration for the popular Fox TV series, “The Resident.”
Dr. Makary is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation. He has served in a leadership position at the World Health Organization Patient Safety Program, and in 2018 was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Makary graduated from Bucknell University and earned an M.P.H. from the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health. He received his M.D. from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and did his surgical residency at Georgetown University, completing sub-specialty surgery training at JHU.