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Medical Research

Trump Appoints Indian-Origin Covid Critic Jay Bhattacharya as NIH Director

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian-origin Stanford academic and prominent critic of COVID-19 lockdown policies, as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, a leading public funder of medical research, manages an annual budget of $47.3 billion and plays a critical role in shaping U.S. health policies. Announcing the appointment, Trump stated that Dr. Bhattacharya, in collaboration with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would lead efforts to restore the NIH’s reputation as the “Gold Standard of Medical Research.” The new leadership aims to tackle America’s pressing health crises, particularly chronic illnesses and diseases. Who is Jay Bhattacharya? Born in Kolkata in 1968, Dr. Bhattacharya is an accomplished scholar with a dual academic foundation: a medical doctorate (1997) and a Ph.D. in economics (2000), both from Stanford University. Currently, he serves as a Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and directs the Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. Dr. Bhattacharya’s research focuses on the health and economic well-being of vulnerable populations, the impact of government programs, and biomedical innovation. He gained national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, advocating for targeted protections for high-risk groups rather than widespread lockdowns. A prolific researcher, Dr. Bhattacharya has authored 135 peer-reviewed articles across various fields, including medicine, health policy, and economics. His appointment signals a shift toward addressing systemic health challenges and reevaluating pandemic response strategies in the United States. Dr. Bhattacharya’s nomination marks a significant move, blending innovative health policies with a critical lens on past approaches, as the NIH positions itself to address evolving medical and research challenges. Source: NDTV Photo Credit: NDTV

IIT Madras and SRIHER Collaborate on MD-PhD Dual Degree Program for Advancing Medical Research in India

IIT Madras and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to introduce a MD-PhD Dual Degree program. The collaboration aims to blend medical expertise and research capabilities, with SRIHER granting the MD degree and IIT Madras conferring the PhD degree through its Department of Medical Sciences and Technology. The program, set to commence in the upcoming academic year, emphasizes core clinical, interdisciplinary, and translational research to train proficient research scientists. Prospective postgraduate students at SRIHER, admitted through NEET, can apply for the PhD program at IIT Madras after their second year. The initiative seeks to cultivate ‘Physician-Scientists’ to drive India’s advancement in medicine and health research, aligning with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency in these fields. The MD-PhD graduates, recognized for their significant contributions, have historically garnered 37 percent of Nobel Prizes in Physiology, exemplifying their pivotal role in establishing crucial cause-and-effect relationships such as those between smoking and cancer or sugar and diabetes.