Another NIH leader has resigned amid the agency's leadership shakeup. Jay Bhattacharya, confirmed as the 18th NIH director by the Senate in March 2025 by a 53-47 vote and taking office on April 1, 2025, has found himself at the center of controversy over budget cuts. The proposed NIH budget cut for 2026 is $18 billion, which Bhattacharya called the starting point for negotiations with Congress. As a former professor at Stanford University, focusing on population aging and chronic disease, he established an appeals process for canceled grants based on keywords related to DEI initiatives. Under the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. there were massive layoffs of about 1,200 positions at NIH, the cancellation of HIV prevention grants, and the suspension of training programs. In a letter to employees, Bhattacharya expressed his condolences for the layoffs and promised a humane implementation of the changes. The agency is facing pressure to focus on chronic diseases and cancel projects on racial health disparities.[1][2][3][4][5]