Who is Jay Bhattacharya, Kolkata-born professor appointed by Trump to lead US health agency?

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Kolkata-born Jay Bhattacharya as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the leading public funder of medical research in the country with a budget of nearly $47.3 billion.

The NIH, operating under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the primary US government agency responsible for medical research and innovation.

While announcing his nomination, Trump said that Stanford professor and key critic of US COVID policies, Bhattacharya, would join hands with Robert F Kennedy Jr. to “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.”

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Earlier this week, the Stanford-trained physician and economist met Robert F Kennedy Jr and impressed him with his proposals for reforming the NIH, according to The Washington Post.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bhattacharya will head the world’s leading medical research agency, The New York Times reported. The NIH comprises 27 institutes and centres, each dedicated to specific research agendas, including diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Who is Jay Bhattacharya?

Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya, born in Kolkata, in 1968, is a Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and serves as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the US.

After completing both his MD and PhD at Stanford University, Bhattacharya took on the role of Director at Stanford’s Centre for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging, where he has made contributions to health policy and economic research.

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According to Stanford’s official website, Bhattacharya’s research is centred on improving the health and well-being of vulnerable groups. He studies the role of government interventions, economic factors, and biomedical advancements in shaping health outcomes. Recently, his work has delved into the study of COVID-19’s epidemiology and assessing the effectiveness of pandemic-related policies.

Notably, his research extends to exploring how ageing populations affect healthcare spending and health outcomes in developed countries, evaluating physician performance tied to payment systems, and studying the impact of medical innovation on public health.

Over his career, he has published 135 papers across top-tier journals in medicine, economics, public health, law, and other fields.

Notably, Bhattacharya criticised the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, he co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter calling for an end to widespread pandemic shutdowns while implementing “focused protections” for vulnerable groups, such as older adults, according to The Washington Post.

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The proposal gained support from Republican politicians and segments of the public who wanted a return to normalcy. However, it was criticised by public health experts, including then-NIH Director Francis S Collins, who considered it premature and dangerous due to the spread of the virus and the absence of available vaccines.

A strong pillar of American medical research, the NIH is responsible for advancing knowledge to improve public health. Despite its importance, the agency has faced criticism for bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of attention to groundbreaking research.

Bhattacharya has supported limiting the influence of some of the 27 institutes and centres that make up the NIH. He argues that during the pandemic, some career civil servants improperly shaped national policies and did not tolerate dissent.

Among Bhattacharya and other critics’ key targets is Anthony S Fauci, the infectious-disease expert who led one of the NIH’s centres for 38 years and played a major role in guiding the country’s COVID-19 response before retiring from federal service in December 2022.

Other Indian origins in Trump’s cabinet

Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy, joined by Elon Musk, will head the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This initiative seeks to dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce government spending, and restructure federal agencies. Comparing it to the “Manhattan Project,” Trump announced that the move would create an entrepreneurial spirit within his administration.

He is a biotech entrepreneur and political thinker. His parents immigrated from Kerala to the United States in the 1970s.

Tulsi Gabbard

Donald Trump has appointed Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat and the first Hindu Congresswoman, as the Director of National Intelligence for his second term.

Gabbard, a four-term Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate, is also a New York Times bestselling author. She is a military veteran with three deployments to the Middle East and Africa. Recently, she switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Nikki Haley was excluded from Donald Trump 2.0

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley will not be a part of Trump’s 2025 administration.

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation.”

Haley, a former South Carolina governor and an Indian-origin Republican leader, previously served as Trump’s UN ambassador. Despite her endorsement of Trump for president, she criticised him during her own bid against him in the Republican primaries.

With inputs from agencies