Bhattacharya takes helm of NIH
Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at 乐鱼体育 and a senior fellow at the 乐鱼体育 Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), will take the helm of the National Institutes of Health.
The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday 53 to 47 to confirm Bhattacharya as NIH director.
Bhattacharya, a health economist, promised to increase the NIH鈥檚 focus on fighting chronic diseases and increase open debate and public trust in science and medicine during his Senate confirmation hearing.
鈥淚 congratulate Jay on this extremely important appointment,鈥 said Neale Mahoney, the Trione Director of SIEPR. 鈥淪IEPR has always had a strong bridge between the worlds of academia and policy and I鈥檓 proud to see that continue.鈥
At 乐鱼体育, Bhattacharya directed the Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. His recent research focused on the epidemiology of COVID-19 and an evaluation of policy responses to the pandemic.
He was one of the authors of the 2020 Great Barrington Declaration, which called for an end to pandemic-era lockdowns.
His other research encompassed the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, with a particular emphasis on the role of government programs, biomedical innovation, and economics. 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 乐鱼体育.