Indian-origin academic confirmed as head of US health agency

THE US Senate has confirmed Dr Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian-American doctor and a professor of health policy at Standford University, as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Jay Bhattacharya won the vote 53-47 during the first session of the roll call vote in the 119th Congress, according to the US Senate website.

US President Donald Trump had earlier in November nominated health economist Dr Jay Bhattacharya to lead the NIH, the country's top health research and funding institution.
Who is Jay Bhattacharya?

Jay Bhattacharya is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Hoover Institution.

He also directs Stanford's Centre for Demography and Economics of Health and Ageing, and his research emphasises the role of government programmes, biomedical innovation, and economics.

Jay Bhattacharya is a co-author of the ‘Great Barrington Declaration’, an alternative to lockdowns proposed in October 2020. His peer-reviewed research has been published in economics, statistics, legal, medical, public health, and health policy journals.

What did Dr Jay Bhattacharya say at his confirmation hearing?

During his confirmation hearing, Jay Bhattacharya stated that he had no intention of slashing more staff at the NIH. He added that he may not be the one to finalise the decision.

However, Donald Trump has released an executive order requiring federal agencies to put forward plans for more layoffs this month, reported Bloomberg.

Before Jay Bhattacharya's confirmation, the NIH slashed nearly 1,000 staff, froze grant activities, and put a policy in place to cap the amount of research funding universities could get for overhead costs. The university funding policy has already been moved to court.

Despite prodding from senators, Jay Bhattacharya gave few clues about his plans to alter how federally funded scientific research is conducted. While he said he believes measles vaccines don’t cause autism, he wouldn’t say whether NIH would fund further studies on the unproven theory, reported Bloomberg.
US Senator Kentucky congratulates Bhattacharya

US Republican Senator from Kentucky Mitch McConnell congratulated Jay Bhattacharya and said he would provide “sound leadership” to the institution.

He posted on X, “Voted today to confirm Dr Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. With an extensive background in medical research, I expect Dr J Bhattacharya to provide sound leadership at the NIH.”

Trump on Jay Bhattacharya's nomination

According to an earlier nomination statement from Trump, Bhattacharya and newly appointed US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr will be working together to restore the NIH to a “Gold Standard of Medical Research.”

Trump, in November, wrote while announcing that he was “thrilled" to nominate Bhattacharya, who “will work in cooperation with Robert F Kennedy Jr to direct the nation’s medical research, and to make important discoveries that will improve health, and save lives.”

"Together, Jay and RFK Jr will restore the NIH to a gold standard of medical research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest health challenges, including our crisis of chronic illness and disease. Together, they will work hard to Make America Healthy Again," he said.