On Wednesday morning, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford health economist who gained national attention for his criticism of the COVID lockdowns, went before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to articulate his vision for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the $48 billion agency opened his remarks by sharing his experience as a NIH-funded researcher on aging populations, chronic disease, and obesity and recognizing the leadership role the agency plays in biomedical research.
Bhattacharya articulated five goals to advance the agency’s mission—to support scientific discovery to enhance health and lengthen life:
- Focus research to solve the country’s chronic disease crisis;
- Ensure that NIH-supported research is replicable, reproducible, and generalizable;
- Establish a culture of respect for free speech in science and scientific dissent at the NIH;
- Recommit the agency to its mission to fund the most innovative biomedical research agenda possible; and
- Vigorously regulate risky research that has the possibility to cause a pandemic.
Repeatedly, Bhattacharya addressed the public’s distrust in science and how his goals, particularly ensuring that research is replicable, reproducible, and generalizable, would address these concerns. During intense questioning by HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Bhattacharya said that he does not believe vaccines cause autism, but he would not agree that additional research on the link between vaccines and autism wasn’t required; his support for additional research was consistent with the position that Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. took before the same committee. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) used her time to inquire about how Bhattacharya will address the administration’s policy to cap facilities and administrative costs, indicating that a one size fits all approach does not make sense. In response, Bhattacharya pledged to work with her on that issue.
Democrats on the committee focused most of their questions on the Trump administration’s recent policy changes at NIH: the halting of study sections and some research funding as well as additional questions on the facilities and administrative costs policy. He did indicate that he would restart the study sections that have been paused. While Bhattacharya promised to ensure that researchers have the resources they need to conduct their work, he would not commit to reversing the administration’s policies. He did say that he did not believe that ideology should determine the direction of science. Bhattacharya did commit to preserving diversity in clinical trials despite President Trump’s Executive Order halting federal DEI programs.
ASPN submitted questions on a range of topics, including the research infrastructure required to conduct research on rare diseases, ensuring review panels include pediatric specialists, and the prevalence of kidney disease. Although Bhattacharya was not directly asked any of our questions, he will be responding in writing to them. In response to a question asked by Sen. Hassan (D-NH) that was similar to ASPN’s question on rare disease support, Bhattacharya committed to supporting meetings and other activities that are focused on rare diseases. ASPN is closely following biomedical research funding and changes in related policy and is taking every opportunity to protect this research.
