Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will serve as the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention until President Trump appoints a permanent director. The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, will take on the additional role of acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two administration officials said on Wednesday.
Dr. Bhattacharya will continue to run the N.I.H., according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity to speak about personnel decisions before President Trump announces them. He will serve until Mr. Trump appoints a permanent director — a position that now requires confirmation by the Senate.
The C.D.C. has run through a series of leaders since Mr. Trump returned to the White House last year.
A physician and medical economist who left Stanford University to join the Trump administration, Dr. Bhattacharya has no formal training in public health. But his research has focused on the well-being of populations, which is the core mission of public health, and thus the C.D.C.