WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as the Director of the National Institutes of Health. The professor of health policy at Stanford University and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will join forces in running America’s medical research, striving to make our people healthier and solve major health issues for the American people.
In a statement on Thursday, Trump described Bhattacharya as highly experienced in health policy and research, stating that he will help to advance medical innovation and find solutions for chronic illness and disease. “Jay 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,” Trump said.
Bhattacharya, a physician and respected health economist, has been prominent in the public health policy debates especially since the outbreak of COVID-19. He co-authored the much-controversial Great Barrington Declaration that emerged in 2020, pushing for an alternative to lockdowns and recommending that the broader population should be exposed to achieve natural immunity, while efforts of public health would target protecting vulnerable populations.
Bhattacharya has kept his focus on issues related to the health and welfare of disadvantaged populations and how government policies influence biomedical invention. Some of his recent academic pursuits include senior fellowships with Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute as well as the Hoover Institution. His other position at Stanford University is that he serves as the director for the center for demography and economics of health and aging.
That partnership is likely to be controversial because Bhattacharya will team up with Kennedy, a known critic of vaccines and environmental advocate. Both have challenged mainstream public health approaches, and their appointment signals a change in the direction of the NIH under Trump’s leadership.
“Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research,” Trump added, noting their focus on tackling America’s growing health crises. The statement highlighted the shared goal of the duo: addressing chronic illnesses, framed by Trump as the main issue in the country’s health landscape.
He is set to steer one of the world’s leading medical research agencies, overseeing billions of dollars in research funding, and set the course for future biomedical research as the new NIH director.
His nomination is sure to be scrutinized by public health experts and political leaders over his previous positions on pandemic management and collaboration with Kennedy.
Bhattacharya’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate before he can officially assume the role of NIH director.
