National Institutes of Health Director to Serve as Acting CDC Director

Jim O'Neill recently left the government, leaving the CDC position vacant.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, appears before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies in Washington on June 10, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images

The director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is becoming the new acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the NIH head, will also serve as acting CDC director, two Trump administration officials told The Epoch Times on Feb. 18 on condition of anonymity.