Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo as Florida Surgeon General and secretary of the Florida Department of Health. Ladapo replaces Dr. Scott Rivkees. A professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine, Ladapo previously was an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Ladapo's primary research interests include clinical trial interventions and reducing the population burden of cardiovascular disease. He has also made headlines for penning op-eds questioning the efficacy of shutdowns and the efficacy of Covid vaccines, and has publicly supported hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19.