Source: SFGate
“A health economist who once famously clashed with officials at the National Institutes of Health and now is the nominee to lead the agency faced questions from senators from both parties Wednesday about drastic funding cuts and research priorities. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor, was an outspoken critic of the government’s COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies. Now he’s poised to become director of the NIH, long called the government’s crown jewel, as it faces mass firings and drastic funding cutbacks. ‘I love the NIH but post-pandemic, America’s biomedical sciences are at a crossroads,’ Bhattacharya told senators. He laid out priorities including a bigger focus on chronic diseases, including diabetes and obesity. But he also said the agency needs to be more open to scientific dissent, saying influential NIH leaders early in the pandemic shut down his own criticisms about responses to COVID-19.” (03/05/25)