All About Jay Bhattacharya, Kolkata-Born Head Of US Disease Research Body

US President Donald Trump is set to appoint Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He will replace interim acting director Jim O'Neill.

Bhattacharya will continue to hold both roles until Trump appoints a permanent CDC director, according to the NY Times. The CDC has seen frequent leadership changes since Trump returned to office last year.

All about Jay Bhattacharya

Born in Kolkata, he studied at Stanford University and graduated with honors in 1990 with both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in economics. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honour society. He also owns a medical degree (MD) from Stanford's School of Medicine in 1997 and a PhD in economics, econometrics and health economics in 2000, according to LinkedIn.

Before and during his academic career, he worked at the National Bureau of Economic Research, SPHERE Institute (a policy research firm) and RAND Corporation, where he worked as an economist. At RAND, he co-invented a patented system that helps people decide how much to contribute to flexible savings accounts (FSAs) based on their health needs and insurance costs.

At Stanford, he held fellowships at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Hoover Institution. He was also a professor in Stanford's Department of Health Research and Policy. He has played a key role in researching how Covid-19 spread (epidemiology), how deadly Covid infections were and the negative effects of lockdown policies during the Biden administration.

In 2025, he was sworn in as the 18th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by Trump. As NIH Director, Dr Bhattacharya now leads America's top medical research agency. The NIH funds and oversees large amounts of scientific and medical research across the country. This includes research on diseases, treatments, vaccines, and overall public health.

He said chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity remain a major health burden across the US. As a Director of NIH, he said he will prioritise high-quality scientific research and innovation to tackle the growing chronic disease crisis and improve long-term health outcomes. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).