Trump picks Johns Hopkins' Martin Makary as FDA commissioner

President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he has picked Dr. Martin Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon as Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

“FDA has lost the trust of Americans and has lost sight of its primary goal as a regulator,” Trump said in a statement.

Trump said Makary will work under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he recently nominated as health secretary, to “properly evaluate harmful chemicals poisoning” the country’s “food supply and drugs” to finally address the “Childhood Chronic Disease Epidemic.”

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices. It's also responsible for ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply.

Makary was born in Liverpool, England, and moved to Baltimore as a young child. Makary graduated with a B.S. from Bucknell University, an MD from Thomas Jefferson University and a Master of Public Health at Harvard University.

Makary has advocated for physician-led initiatives such as The Surgical Checklist, which he developed at Johns Hopkins and which was later popularized in Atul Gawande’s best-selling book The Checklist Manifesto.

He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and numerous teaching awards. Makary currently leads the Evidence-Based Medicine and Public Policy Research Group at Johns Hopkins.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Martin Makary tapped as FDA commissioner