Indian-American Jay Bhattacharya begins tenure as director of NIH

Jayanta ‘Jay’ Bhattacharya took office on Tuesday as the 18th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). President Donald Trump nominated Dr Bhattacharya for the position on November 26, 2024, and the US Senate confirmed him on March 25, 2025.

As director, Dr Bhattacharya will oversee America’s medical research agency, according to a news release from NIH. “Dr Bhattacharya will play an instrumental role in shaping the agency’s activities and outlook and ensuring they align with the president’s Make America Healthy Again Commission.”
“Under Dr Bhattacharya’s leadership, NIH will restore its commitment to gold-standard science,” said US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “I’m excited to work with Dr Bhattacharya to ensure NIH research aligns with our administration’s priorities — especially tackling the chronic disease epidemic and helping to Make America Healthy Again.”

“Chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity continue to cause poor health outcomes in every community across the United States. Novel biomedical discoveries that enhance health and lengthen life are more vital than ever to our country’s future,” said Dr Bhattacharya. “As NIH Director, I will build on the agency’s long and illustrious history of supporting breakthroughs in biology and medicine by fostering gold-standard research and innovation to address the chronic disease crisis.”

A renowned doctor, researcher and health economist, Dr Bhattacharya held a tenured professorship in the medical school at Stanford University in California. His research has focused on population aging and chronic disease, particularly on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. During the pandemic, Dr Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for opening schools and lifting lockdowns while better protecting older populations who were most vulnerable to the disease.

Encouraging different perspectives will be central to Dr Bhattacharya’s approach to leading NIH as part of his larger mission to restore public trust in science. Alongside Secretary Kennedy, he will champion innovative, cutting-edge research that fuels near-term solutions for patients while balancing investments in basic science.

Dr Bhattacharya earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Stanford University. He then completed medical school and earned a PhD in economics at Stanford University.