Who is Jay Bhattacharya? Kolkata-born physician, Stanford professor, set to lead US health agency

Jay Bhattacharya has emerged as US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the next director of the National Institutes of Health. The health economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is a known critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

The NIH, a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation's medical research agency. Bhattacharya is a Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research. He directs Stanford's Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging.

He was born in Kolkata in 1968. Bhattacharya finished MD from Stanford University's School of Medicine in 1997. His research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, with a particular emphasis on the role of government programs, biomedical innovation, and economics. Dr. Bhattacharya's recent research focuses on the epidemiology of Covid-19 as well as an evaluation of policy responses to the epidemic. 

His broader research interests encompass the implications of population aging for future population health and medical spending in developed countries, the measurement of physician performance tied to physician payment by insurers, and the role played by biomedical innovation on health, as per Stanford University.

He has published 135 articles in top peer-reviewed scientific journals in medicine, economics, health policy, epidemiology, statistics, law, and public health among other fields. 

He holds an MD and PhD in economics, both earned at Stanford University. Notably, on November 14, Trump nominated Kennedy as the next United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Health and Human Services oversees NIH and other health agencies "I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)," Trump said in a post on X.

"For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health," the post further mentioned.

Notably, Kennedy Jr is the nephew of 35th President of US, John FKennedy. He is the founder of the Waterkeeper Alliance -- the world's largest clean water advocacy group -- and served as its longtime chairman and attorney. 

(with inputs from ANI)