File news photo of Nicole Saphier at a gala
Nicole Saphier, now the nominee for surgeon general, attends FOX Nation’s Patriot Awards in 2024.Theo Wargo/Getty Images

By Elizabeth Cooney, Helen Branswell, and Katie Palmer

April 30, 2026

Elizabeth Cooney

[email protected]

Elizabeth Cooney is a cardiovascular disease reporter at STAT, covering heart, stroke, and metabolic conditions. You can reach Liz on Signal at LizC.22.

Helen Branswell

Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on Signal at hbranswell.01.

Katie Palmer

[email protected]

Katie Palmer covers telehealth, clinical artificial intelligence, and the health data economy — with an emphasis on the impacts of digital health care for patients, providers, and businesses. You can reach Katie on Signal at palmer.01.

Now that Casey Means is no longer the Trump administration’s choice for surgeon general, attention is turning to the new nominee for the position. 

Nicole Saphier, whose candidacy was announced Thursday, is a licensed physician — unlike Means, whose license lapsed. A radiologist at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Saphier (pronounced SAA-fire) is director of breast imaging at MSK Monmouth in New Jersey. She may be more widely known as a regular contributor to Fox Business, where she has said that the overwhelming majority of “good research” disputes the notion that vaccines are linked to autism, but has expressed an openness to alternative childhood vaccine schedules. 

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Saphier has weighed in on many other concerns shared by the Make America Healthy Again movement promoted by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., agreeing with Kennedy on some positions but also clearly questioning others. In her own words, here are her views on vaccines, peptides, Tylenol in pregnancy, dietary guidelines, breast cancer, and also, Casey Means.

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  1. Elizabeth Cooney

    Cardiovascular Disease Reporter

    Elizabeth Cooney is a cardiovascular disease reporter at STAT, covering heart, stroke, and metabolic conditions. You can reach Liz on Signal at LizC.22.

  2. Helen Branswell

    Infectious Diseases Correspondent

    Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on Signal at hbranswell.01.

  3. Katie Palmer

    Health Tech Correspondent

    Katie Palmer covers telehealth, clinical artificial intelligence, and the health data economy — with an emphasis on the impacts of digital health care for patients, providers, and businesses. You can reach Katie on Signal at palmer.01.