How Trump’s NIH pick could upend the agency
AXIOS December 12, 2024
President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health has drawn scorn for his views on herd immunity and COVID, but Jay Bhattacharya’s arrival would put renewed focus on why a research institution with a nearly $48 billion budget doesn’t have more breakthroughs.
Why it matters: The controversial Stanford professor could rattle the scientific establishment and turf-conscious lawmakers in Congress, but also satisfy skeptics’ calls for a serious look under the hood at how NIH works.
- There’s generally less risk-taking today that pushes science in new directions, in part because of economic incentives and the higher likelihood that research confirming earlier work will pay off.
- “Getting science right is arguably the single-most important thing we can do in...