Jay Bhattacharya is now US President-elect Donald Trump’s favorite to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Washington Post It was reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The Stanford-trained physician and economist met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), this week and was impressed by his ideas for reforming the National Institutes of Health, the report said.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The report added that Bhattacharya called for shifting the agency’s focus toward funding more innovative research and reducing the influence of some of the longest-serving officials in their careers.
Trump chose Kennedy earlier this month to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, America’s largest health agency that oversees the National Institutes of Health and other health agencies.
Trump’s selection of the National Institutes of Health came more than a week after he appointed RFK to lead the largest US health agency, which was criticized by many experts.
On the appointment of RFK Junior, Dr Krishanthi Subramaniam, a lecturer at the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences at the University of Liverpool, said: “(The nomination) is worrying not only for the health of those living in the US but also for everyone in the US.” Global community.
“Kennedy has a track record of being a vaccine denier and has described vaccine misinformation as scientific fact. This announcement may mark the beginning of a growing period of vaccine hesitancy in the United States, which could mean outbreaks of diseases saved by vaccines.”