Dr. Jay Bhattacharya Confirmation Hearing To Lead NIH: Rebuilding Confidence In Science

The Senate Health Committee grilled Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on Wednesday, President Trump's nominee to head the National Institutes of Health.

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Dr. Jay Bhattacharya: “Science should be an engine for knowledge and freedom, not something that stands on top of society and says you must do this or else.”

“It shouldn’t be pushing covid vaccines.”

“The proper role of scientists in a… pic.twitter.com/rlOgmLdxnK

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Bhattacharya called for returning science to "a force for freedom and knowledge" and away from politicization.


"Science should be an engine for knowledge and freedom, not something that stands on top of society and says you must do this or else," he said.

"It shouldn’t be pushing covid vaccines," he said. "The proper role of scientists in a pandemic is to answer basic questions that policymakers have about what the right policy should be."

"The role of scientists shouldn’t be to say you can’t send your kids to school for two years."

Here's his full opening statement:

DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA: Chairman Cassidy, Ranking Member Sanders, and members of the Senate Health Committee, I’m honored to speak with you today and deeply humbled by President Trump’s nomination. I’m delighted to have with me my wife, Kathy, my son, Matthew, and my brother, Deep. My two other adult children, Jod and Benjamin, unfortunately could not attend today but are here with me in spirit.

The NIH has played a pivotal role in my career. I served for a decade as a standing member of NIH Grant Committees. I helped train many trainees to prepare for scientific careers with NIH support, and I want NIH funding to study population aging, chronic disease, and obesity. I’ve made the study of scientific institutions, including the NIH itself, a focus of my own scientific work.

The NIH is the crown jewel of American biomedical sciences, with a long and illustrious history of supporting breakthroughs in biology and medicine. I have the utmost respect for the NIH scientists and staff over the decades who have contributed to this success. The NIH’s mission to support scientific discovery to enhance health and lengthen life is vital to our country’s future and, indeed, the world’s. I love the NIH, but post-pandemic American biomedical sciences are at a crossroads. A November 2024 Pew study reported that only 26% of the American public had a great deal of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interest; 23% have not much or no confidence at all.

So, how can I help the NIH better achieve its mission? I have five concrete goals if confirmed as director of the NIH.

First, NIH research should focus on research that solves the American chronic disease crisis. American health is going backwards. Life expectancy flatlined between 2012 and 2019, plummeted during the pandemic, and still has not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. The chronic disease crisis is severe, with hundreds of millions of Americans, children and adults, suffering from obesity, heart disease, cancer, and more. If confirmed, I will carry out President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s agenda of committing the NIH to address the dire chronic health needs of the country with gold-standard science and innovation.

Second, NIH-supported science should be replicable, reproducible, and generalizable. Unfortunately, much modern biomedical science fails this basic test. The NIH itself, just last year, faced a research integrity scandal involving research on Alzheimer’s disease that throws into question hundreds of research papers. If the data generated by scientists is not reliable, the products of such science cannot help anyone. It is no stretch to think that the slow progress on Alzheimer’s disease is linked to this problem. The NIH can and must solve the crisis of scientific data reliability. Under my leadership, if confirmed, it will do so.

Third, if confirmed, I will establish a culture of respect for free speech in science and scientific dissent at the NIH. Over the last few years, top NIH officials oversaw a culture of coverup, bias, and a lack of tolerance for ideas that differed from theirs. Dissent is the very essence of science. I’ll foster a culture where NIH leadership will actively encourage different perspectives and create an environment where scientists, including early-career scientists and scientists that disagree with me, can express disagreement respectfully.

Fourth, the NIH must recommit to its mission to fund the most innovative biomedical research agenda possible to improve American health. My plan is to ensure that the NIH invests in cutting-edge research in every field to make big advances rather than just small, incremental progress over years.

Fifth, the NIH must embrace and vigorously regulate risky research that has the possibility of causing a pandemic. It must regulate risky research that has the possibility of causing a pandemic. It should embrace transparency in all its operations. While the vast majority of biomedical research poses no risk of harm to research subjects or the public, the NIH must ensure that it never supports work that might cause harm.

If confirmed, I will work with Congress and the administration to guarantee that happens. While I believe there are real problems to be addressed, I want to finish by reiterating my great respect for the work and mission of the NIH. If confirmed, I’ll carry out President Trump’s agenda of making the public science institutions of this country worthy of trust and serve to make America healthy again.