Names are beginning to surface for the job of Surgeon General, the nation’s top doc. One leading candidate is neurosurgeon Gail Rosseau, chief of surgery at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Institute of Chicago and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago’s major teaching hospital. Rosseau is one of only 300 female neurosurgeons in the nation and is often called upon to comment on various issues related to neurosurgery and also women’s health issues and women’s role in the medical profession. Rosseau, 52, is a registered nurse in addition to being a medical doctor. She was an early Obama supporter and acted as a surrogate for him during the campaign on health issues. A French speaker, she is active in the World Federation of Neurological Societies, teaching in developing countries and traveling regularly to French-speaking Africa to care for children and adults.

Another possibility: CNN celebrity journalist and doctor Sanjay Gupta, 39, is being mentioned by some for the job. He hosts “House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta,” has a regular gig with CBS, writes a column for Time Magazine, and his book, “Chasing Life,” was a best seller. An Indian-American, he grew up in Michigan where his parents emigrated in the 1960’s to work in the Ford Dearborn plant. Gupta is based in Atlanta, where he is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital.