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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.

All Industries
All Industries Academia Business Government Medicine Nonprofit Philanthropy

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