Indian-American physician and economist Jay Bhattacharya has been appointed acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), signaling a significant leadership transition at the country’s leading public health institution.
Bhattacharya, who currently serves as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will assume the interim CDC role amid ongoing changes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He confirmed that he will oversee both agencies simultaneously until a permanent CDC director is appointed.
His appointment follows the sudden exit of former CDC Director Susan Monarez, who was removed less than a month into her tenure last year, as well as the recent service of acting head Jim O’Neill.
Bhattacharya assumes leadership at a time of internal transition and national debate over the direction of U.S. public health policy. Holding concurrent leadership of the CDC and NIH places him in charge of two of the nation’s most influential health institutions, each with expansive mandates and substantial budgets.
As acting CDC director, he will oversee efforts to track and contain infectious diseases, conduct critical public health research, and help shape national health guidance. The CDC manages a broad network of laboratories and initiatives addressing challenges ranging from emerging pandemics to chronic illnesses.
Born in Kolkata, India, Bhattacharya earned both his MD and PhD in economics from Stanford University and previously served on the faculty at Stanford’s School of Medicine. He rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, a statement that questioned widespread lockdown measures and generated significant public debate.
