Jay Bhattacharya, currently heading the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will also serve as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This move comes following the dismissal of Susan Monarez as CDC director after a brief tenure marked by disagreements with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Bhattacharya, a physician and economist born in Kolkata, gained recognition during the Covid pandemic for challenging established health policies.
Bhattacharya’s appointment follows the temporary leadership of Deputy Health Secretary Jim O’Neill at the CDC. With a background in both medicine and economics, Bhattacharya was previously a professor at Stanford University before being chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the NIH. His critical stance on lockdown measures during the pandemic drew attention from Trump and Kennedy.
The CDC, headquartered in Atlanta, operates with a substantial $9.7 billion budget to address global and domestic public health threats. It oversees various centers and institutes focused on infectious diseases, food safety, environmental health, and non-communicable health issues. On the other hand, the NIH, located near Washington, D.C., has a $48 billion budget for research across its numerous institutes and centers.
