Washington, 27 Nov

US President-elect Donald Trump has picked Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya as the director of the National Institutes of Health, the country's top health research and funding institutions.

With this, Bhattacharya becomes the first Indian-American to be nominated by Trump for a top administrative position.

Earlier, Trump picked Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency along with Tesla owner Elon Musk. However, that is a voluntary position and does not need confirmation from the US Senate.

"I am thrilled to nominate Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bhattacharya will work in cooperation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to direct the Nation’s Medical Research and to make important discoveries that will improve Health, and save lives," Trump announced.

"Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest Health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease. Together, they will work hard to Make America Healthy Again," he said.

Bhattacharya is a professor of Health Policy at Stanford University, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research, and a senior fellow by courtesy at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute, and the Hoover Institution, according to Trump.

He directs Stanford's Centre for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. His research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, emphasising the role of government programmes, biomedical innovation, and economics.

Bhattacharya is a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, an alternative to lockdowns proposed in October 2020. His peer-reviewed research has been published in Economics, Statistics, Legal, Medical, Public Health, and Health Policy Journals. He holds an MD and PhD in Economics from Stanford University, Trump said.

Trump also nominated Jim O'Neill as the deputy secretary of Health and Human Services to work alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"He (O'Neill) will oversee all operations and improve Management, Transparency, and Accountability to, Make America Healthy Again," he said.

O'Neill previously served as the principal associate deputy secretary of HHS. He led reforms at the FDA to overhaul Food Safety Regulations and implemented the FDA Amendments Act, which improved Drug and Medical Device Safety, and ensured greater protection for Public Health, according to Trump.