Bhattacharya testifies before the Senate HELP Committee March 5. Photo: Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Senate confirmed Jay Bhattacharya to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health Tuesday on a 53-47 party-line vote.
Why it matters: Bhattacharya wants to revamp the nation's premier research institution, shifting its focus to chronic disease and ensuring "free speech" in differing scientific views.
Catch up quick: During his confirmation hearing before the Senate HELP Committee, Bhattacharya got into a debate with HELP Chair Bill Cassidy about whether research into the causes of autism should include vaccines.
He did say he "didn't generally believe" there was a link between vaccines and autism when Cassidy pressed him on the question.
Bhattacharya is a Stanford health economist and cowrote the Great Barrington Declaration during the COVID pandemic, which called for young people to get herd immunity through contracting COVID.
What we're watching: Bhattacharya will take charge of NIH at a time when the agency has already been facing upheaval from the new Trump administration.
In the last few months at the NIH, the administration has cut staff (with potential more layoffs looming), enacted federal funding freezes, and cut reimbursement for indirect research costs.
