New York, February 19 – Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and economist, is taking over the leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the acting director of the world’s leading medical research organization.
Bhattacharya, who now heads the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will also hold the position at the CDC, he told NBC News, confirming several earlier reports.
He is taking over the CDC, which, like the rest of the federal health establishment, has been embroiled in controversy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and has seen a revolving door of leaders.
Susan Monarez was fired as the CDC director in August after less than a month in the position, following a clash with Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic.
Deputy Health Secretary Jim O'Neill was appointed as the temporary head of the CDC, and Bhattacharya now takes over from him.
Bhattacharya, who was born in Kolkata and holds both a medical degree and a PhD in economics, was a professor at Stanford University's medical school in California when President Donald Trump appointed him to lead the NIH.
He gained national prominence during the Covid pandemic by questioning the prevailing orthodoxy of the government health establishment, which imposed extended, broad lockdowns to combat the disease, and he challenged Anthony Fauci, who was widely recognized as the architect of the official policy.
This caught the attention of Trump and Kennedy.
The CDC, based in Atlanta, has a budget of $9.7 billion to address threats to public health worldwide and in the US.
Through its 25 centers and institutes, which have a network of laboratories, it monitors and provides ways to control infectious diseases, foodborne pathogens, and environmental health problems, as well as non-infectious health issues such as obesity and diabetes.
It also has a remit for occupational safety, health, and injury prevention.
The NIH, located in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, has 27 institutes and centers, with a budget of $48 billion for research at its institutions and for sponsoring studies at others through grants.
Another Indian-American doctor, Vinay Prasad, also holds a top position in the US government health establishment.
He is the director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which monitors the safety, purity, and effectiveness of biologics, including vaccines and gene therapies.
Prasad, who took over the helm of the center in May, resigned on July 29, only to return on August 9 at the request of the FDA leadership.
