Trump names Indian-origin Jay Bhattacharya to top US health post
Stanford professor will lead medical research as Director of National Institutes of Health
Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the appointment of India-born Jay Bhattacharya, a professor at Stanford School of Medicine, as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Bhattacharya stated his intention to reform scientific institutions, aiming to make them “worthy of trust” once again.
“I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as the Director of the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya will collaborate with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the nation’s medical research efforts, driving critical discoveries to improve health and save lives,” Trump’s statement read.
The NIH, a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s leading medical research agency.
Who is Jay Bhattacharya?
Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, also serves as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a senior fellow (by courtesy) at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Hoover Institution. He directs Stanford’s Centre for Demography and Economics of Health and Ageing.
His research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, with an emphasis on government programmes, biomedical innovation, and economics. Bhattacharya is also a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, a 2020 proposal advocating alternatives to COVID-19 lockdowns. His peer-reviewed research has been published across a range of disciplines, including economics, statistics, law, medicine, public health, and health policy.
He holds both an MD and a PhD in economics from Stanford University.
Trump’s campaign highlighted Bhattacharya’s role in their goal to “Make America Healthy Again,” echoing Trump’s famous slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to the gold standard of medical research by addressing the underlying causes of America’s most significant health challenges, including the chronic illness crisis. Together, they will work tirelessly to make America healthy again,” the statement added.
Bhattacharya expressed his gratitude for the nomination.
In a post on X, he wrote, “I am honoured and humbled by President Donald Trump’s nomination of me to be the next NIH director. We will reform American scientific institutions so they are worthy of trust again and will apply the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again!”
Bhattacharya recently met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to present his vision for transforming the NIH. He outlined plans for reforming the agency and shifting its priorities to address critical health challenges.
In another recent move, Trump appointed Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Unlike the NIH position, this is a voluntary role that does not require Senate confirmation.
Separately, six Indian Americans were recently elected to the US House of Representatives: Raja Krishnamoorthi, Shri Thanedar, Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam, Ro Khanna, and Pramila Jayapal.