Jay Bhattacharya

Jayanta Bhattacharya is an American health economist, trained as a physician, who has served as the 18th director of the National Institutes of Health since 2025. Bhattacharya has additionally served as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since February 2026. Bhattacharya earned his M.D. and Ph. D. in economics from Stanford University. He does not practice medicine but specializes in health economics.