Andrew von Eschenbach, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, has recently told his staff that he will leave the agency on January 20, when Barack Obama becomes the new president of the United States. This was announced in a memo sent on Monday, when Eschenbach said he would return home to Texas to spend time with his family: "Until my final farewell on January 20, I will be working together with you to prepare the FDA for the change of political leadership at the agency.”

Eschenbach is a cancer surgeon and he was appointed as acting commission by Republican George W. Bush in September 2005, being confirmed by the Senate as permanent commissioner in December 2006. Until now, Barack Obama has not announced a replacement for von Eschenbach. Even so, Janet Woodcock, head of the FDA's drug center, is believed to be a worthy candidate for the top job, at least on a temporary basis. Other names mentioned as possibilities include Steve Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist and Joshua Sharfstein, head of Baltimore's health department.

As for Obama's administration, this is expected to make a clean sweep, and that's because it is said the Bush Administration allowed politics to play an unusually forceful role in science policy. Barack Obama will have to deal with issues such as the stem cell policy and the safety of imported drugs and foods. Furthermore, the problem of genomic research and the approach to pandemic flu planning are also important points on the future administration's agenda. However, von Eschenbach's loss won't be an easy one, and that's because lawmakers and consumers advocates, including critics, say they have found Eschenbach easy to work with.