Meet Jay Bhattacharya, Kolkata-born Stanford academic, set to lead US health agency

Dr Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford professor and economist originally from Kolkata, is known for his controversial views on Covid policies, including his opposition to lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

In Short

• Bhattacharya is a professor of medicine at Stanford University
• Was a staunch critic of the US government's Covid policies
• Faced social media restrictions over his views

Dr Jay Bhattacharya, a Kolkata-born, Stanford-trained physician and economist has been nominated by US President-elect Donald Trump to head the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the country’s premier medical research institution, "to make important discoveries that will improve health and save lives".

The 56-year-old professor at Stanford University School of Medicine will work in cooperation with Robert F Kennedy Jr, who will head the Department of Health and Human Services under Trump 2.0.

As the NIH director, he will oversee 27 institutes and centres that conduct early-stage research, spanning areas such as developing vaccines for emerging pandemic threats and identifying targets for new drug therapies.

WHO IS JAY BHATTACHARYA

Bhattacharya is a professor of medicine at Stanford University and holds courtesy appointments in economics and health research policy. He is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Additionally, he directs Stanford's Centre for Demography and Economics of Health and Ageing.

His research primarily focusses on the economics of health care, with a particular emphasis on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations.

COVID 19 VIEWS

Bhattacharya was an outspoken critic of the US government's Covid policies. He made headlines for his opposition to lockdowns and mask mandates.

He co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration in 2020, which advocated for "focused protection" of vulnerable populations while allowing the virus to spread among lower-risk groups to achieve herd immunity. He argued that lockdowns were causing irreparable harm.

He had also contended that vaccine mandates, which restricted unvaccinated individuals from participating in activities or accessing workplaces, eroded public trust in the health system in the United States.

This approach was controversial and criticised by many public health experts and organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO). But it was welcomed by some in the first Trump administration.

SOCIAL MEDIA RESTRICTIONS

Bhattacharya faced restrictions on social media due to his views. He was a complainant in a key Supreme Court case alleging that federal officials improperly suppressed conservative perspectives on social media in their efforts to combat misinformation. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Joe Biden administration.

Following Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022, Bhattacharya was invited to the company's headquarters to examine how his views had been curtailed on the platform. More recently, Bhattacharya has used X to comment on scientists leaving the platform for the alternative site Bluesky, sarcastically referring to Bluesky as "their own little echo chamber".

FROM KOLKATA TO STANFORD

Jayanta Bhattacharya was born in Kolkata. He moved to the United States for higher education. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in 1990, followed by a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 1997, and a PhD in Economics in 2000, all from Stanford University.