WATCH NOW: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya speaks at Medical College of Wisconsin May 2, 2025

The Wisconsin Association of Scholars and MCW President Dr. John Raymond hosted recently-appointed NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya at MCW on Friday, May 2 from 3-4:30 pm.

The hybrid event, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Association of Scholars, was held in the Bolger Auditorium on the MCW-Milwaukee campus and virtually via Zoom.

Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, is the 18th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who began his tenure on April 1, 2025.

Dr. Bhattacharya earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Stanford University.  He then completed medical school and earned a PhD in economics at Stanford University. A renowned physician, researcher and health economist, Dr. Bhattacharya held a tenured professorship in the medical school at Stanford, where his research has focused on population aging and chronic disease, particularly on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. Dr. Bhattacharya was a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration early in in the COVID-19 pandemic and is a strong advocate for open scientific inquiry.