Kolkata-born physician, Jay Bhattacharya, leads as Trump's choice to head US health body

Jayanta "Jay" Bhattacharya, a distinguished physician and economist born in Kolkata, has emerged as the leading candidate for the position of director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under US President-elect Donald Trump, according to multiple media reports.

Bhattacharya recently met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was appointed by Trump to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He impressed Kennedy with his innovative ideas for revamping the NIH, an agency responsible for overseeing biomedical research in the United States, as reported by The Washington Post.

The Indian-origin economist advocates for shifting the NIH’s focus towards funding innovative research and reducing the influence of long-serving career officials. The NIH is instrumental in allocating research grants, managing clinical trials, and supporting the development of drugs and therapies.

Despite the buzz, there has been no official comment from Trump’s transition team. The final decision on the NIH director will ultimately rest with President-elect Trump, who is known for occasionally disregarding recommendations.

Bhattacharya, born in Kolkata in 1968, is a Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He holds both an MD and a PhD in Economics from Stanford University and directs Stanford’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging, making significant contributions to health policy and economic research.