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Bhattacharya tells senators he does not believe MMR causes autism but supports broader research into autism causes; pushes NIH emphasis on chronic disease and '
Summary
Dr. Bhattacharya said he does not generally believe vaccines cause autism but acknowledged distrust from the pandemic era and supported research into autism's causes and prevention. He told senators NIH should pivot more toward chronic disease research, replication, decentralization and low‑cost drug studies.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya told the Senate HELP Committee he does not generally believe the MMR vaccine causes autism but said he would support ‘‘a broad scientific agenda’’ to study autism’s causes and other childhood health problems, while cautioning about the opportunity cost of repeatedly reexamining questions that prior studies have extensively addressed.
During questioning by Senator Collins and Senator Sanders, Bhattacharya said, "I don't generally believe that there is a link" between measles‑mumps‑rubella vaccine and autism and cited his reading of the literature. He also said that because a minority of people may disagree with the consensus, a director’s principal lever would be to "give people good data" and to fund research targeted at unanswered questions about causes and prevention.
On broader research priorities, Bhattacharya said the NIH should focus on chronic diseases that are driving declines in U.S. life expectancy — including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's — and aim to support work that is replicable, generalizable and geared toward interventions that improve public health. "If the data generated by scientists is not reliable, the products of such science cannot help anyone," he said, citing a recent research integrity scandal in Alzheimer's research.
He also proposed that NIH devote more resources to studying off‑patent, inexpensive drugs for new indications — citing the United Kingdom trial that found dexamethasone reduced COVID‑19 deaths — as a model of inexpensive, high‑impact discovery. On whether NIH should attach pricing clauses to drugs developed with taxpayer‑funded research, Bhattacharya told the committee that enforcement would require congressional and administrative action rather than unilateral action by NIH.
Senator Hawley asked whether he would follow Secretary Kennedy and President Trump in prohibiting the use of aborted fetal tissue in NIH‑funded research; Bhattacharya said he would follow the administration's policy and stressed the public health rationale for ethically acceptable alternatives.
Bhattacharya also emphasized decentralizing decision‑making to broaden the set of ideas and researchers that receive support, prioritizing early career investigators and ensuring geographic diversity so that research funding is not concentrated in a few states or institutions.
Provenance: topicintro excerpt: "1 thing that's been a real topic, has been the issue of measles vaccines and autism...There's now a child who died from a vaccine preventable disease in Texas." (block_id: block_2150.465) topfinish excerpt: "I think the chronic disease problem is something that the NIH ought to have done a better job at the last several decades...If I'm confirmed, I absolutely commit to doing that." (block_id: block_4340.89)
