


The ultimate list of leaders in life sciences.
The 2025 STATUS List features 50 influential people shaping the future of health and life sciences across biotech, medicine, health care, policy, and health tech. The list is wide-ranging: from the biotech and health system executives who lead the market, to scientists developing AI technologies and breakthrough therapies, to patient advocates and activists.
This year’s selections also reflect the leaders and powerbrokers of a new era in Washington. Some are big names you’ve surely heard of; others are behind-the-scenes players. We didn’t shy away from people who are controversial. What these 50 people have in common is their influence on our health care system, and why they’re worth our readers’ attention in the year ahead.
This list is necessarily subjective. It’s the product of a months-long (and sometimes painstaking) nomination and judging process involving editors and reporters at STAT. We welcome readers’ thoughts on who they would select and why. We hope the list will spark conversation about the people who are driving headlines in health and medicine.

Academia
Marcella Alsan
Angelopoulos professor of public policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Nonprofit
Georges Benjamin
Executive director, American Public Health Association

Philanthropy
Joseph R. Betancourt
President, Commonwealth Fund

Government
Jay Bhattacharya
Director, NIH

Academia
Anne Carpenter
Institute scientist, Broad Institute

Government
Bill Cassidy
U.S. senator (R-La.)

Nonprofit
Keith Churchwell
President, American Heart Association

Government
Mike Crapo
U.S. senator (R-Idaho)

Business
Mark Cuban
Co-founder, Cost Plus Drugs

Medicine
Amaka Eneanya
Chief transformation officer, Emory Healthcare

Business
Judy Faulkner
Founder and CEO, Epic Systems Corporation

Academia
Holly Fernandez Lynch
Associate professor of medical ethics, University of Pennsylvania

Nonprofit
Rebecca Gomperts
Executive director, Aid Access

Government
Scott Gottlieb
Partner, New Enterprise Associates

Business
Demis Hassabis and John Jumper
CEO and director, Google DeepMind

Academia
Nancy Hopkins
Amgen Inc. professor of biology, emerita, MIT

Medicine
Michael Ibarra
Assistant professor and physician, UT Southwestern

Academia
Ruth Itzhaki
Visiting professorial fellow, University of Oxford

Academia
Theodore “Jack” Iwashyna
Bloomberg distinguished professor, Johns Hopkins University

Government
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Secretary, HHS

Government
Drew Keyes
Senior policy adviser, Office of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Business
Omar Lateef
President and CEO, Rush University System for Health

Business
John Link
Scientific adviser, Actio Biosciences and Terremoto Bio

Academia
Crystal Mackall
Ernest and Amelia Gallo Family Professor, Stanford University

Government
Marty Makary
Commissioner, FDA

Government
Casey and Calley Means
MAHA influencers, startup founders, and co-authors

Academia
Megan Morris
Associate professor, NYU Langone Grossman School of Medicine

Medicine
Kiran Musunuru
Professor of cardiovascular medicine, genetics, and pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania

Academia
Timothy Naimi
Director, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research

Business
Bob Nelsen
Co-founder and managing director, ARCH Venture Partners

Government
Mehmet Oz
Administrator, CMS

Nonprofit
Monica Raye Simpson
Executive director, SisterSong

Business
David Ricks
Chair and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company

Academia
Dorothy Roberts
George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

Business
Jaewon Ryu
CEO, Risant Health

Medicine
Georg Schett
Vice president research, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Academia
Leonardo Seoane
Founding dean, Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine

Medicine
Tom Sequist
Chief medical officer, Mass General Brigham

Academia
Karandeep Singh
Chief health AI officer, UC San Diego Health

Government
Michelle Tarver
Director, CDRH, FDA

Academia
Sarah Teichmann
Professor of stem cell medicine, Cambridge University

Academia
Halidou Tinto
Director, Institute of Research in Health Sciences, Burkina Faso

Nonprofit
Julia Vitarello
Mila's mom, founder & CEO, Mila's Miracle Foundation

Academia
Donald Warne
Provost fellow for Indigenous health policy, Johns Hopkins University

Government
Elizabeth Warren
U.S. senator (D-Mass.)

Business
Andrew Witty
CEO, UnitedHealth Group

Nonprofit
Alice Wong
Founder and director, Disability Visibility Project

Academia
Michael Worobey
Professor and department head, University of Arizona

Business
Michelle Xia
Founder and CEO, Akeso Biopharma

Business
Daphne Zohar
Founder and CEO, Seaport Therapeutics