Jay Bhattacharya confirmed as next NIH Director
Medical school professor Jay Bhattacharya M.D. ’97 Ph.D. ’00, President Donald Trump’s top choice to lead the NIH, was confirmed as the director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Mar. 25 in a 53-47 party-line vote.
Bhattacharya’s confirmation follows threats from Trump administration to cut NIH funding, which would affect research progress at institutions across the country, including Stanford. Stanford faces a loss of up to $160 million dollars in funding from the NIH, although a judge has since issued a temporary restraining order against the funding cuts.
Bhattacharya received criticism during the COVID-19 pandemic due to his co-authoring of the Great Barrington Declaration (GBD) with “medical and public health scientists.” The GDB challenged lockdowns as an effective way to stop the spread of the virus and suggested measures, such as the reopening of schools, to protect vulnerable populations including the elderly and children.
After the paper was met with severe backlash from the press and other medical professionals, which, according to Bhattacharya, led to “smears,” he stated that Stanford had “failed the academic freedom test” by failing to create a workplace where open discussion was encouraged.
In an opinion piece published in The Daily, Santiago E. Sanchez, a 6th year joint M.D.-Ph.D. student, expressed concerns about Bhattacharya’s appointment as NIH director, writing that he “has not shied away from calling for defunding work he has a personal grievance against.”
At his senate confirmation hearing, Bhattacharya highlighted current problems that he feels the NIH faces. He described the NIH’s culture as one that encouraged “coverup, obfuscation and a lack of tolerance for ideas that differed from theirs.”
When asked by senators if he would reverse cuts or the recent removal of staff, Bhattacharya said that he would ensure that proper funding is present for scientists.
Stanford Medicine expressed its congratulations to Bhattacharya, “wish[ing] him the very best” as he assumes this important role in public service.
While supporters of Bhattacharya’s confirmation cite his experience in academia and as a professor of medicine, critics suggest that much of his experience comes from health economics — in which he received his Ph.D. — which, to them, does not equip him to lead the NIH.
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