America's Autism Crisis and How AI Can Fix Science with NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya

a16z Podcast

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is one of the country’s top medical experts and a 24-year professor of medicine at Stanford. After being censored and deplatformed during COVID for his role in opposing harsh lockdowns, he was appointed Director of the National Institutes of Health by President Trump in 2025.

a16z General Partners Erik Torenberg, Vineeta Agarwala, and Jorge Conde join Dr. Bhattacharya to discuss the administration’s role in tackling the autism crisis, how to restore public trust in health authorities, how to make the NIH more dynamic and efficient, and how to streamline publishing and restore academic freedom.

Timecodes:

0:00 Introduction
1:30 Autism Initiative & New Research
2:45 Drug Discoveries: Leucovorin & Tylenol Caution
4:35 Preterm Birth & Broader Health Initiatives
5:45 The Replication Crisis in Science
8:50 Reforming NIH Funding & Scientific Culture
14:00 Allocation vs. Execution at NIH
17:30 Political & Scientific Decision-Making
22:30 Addressing Life Expectancy & Chronic Disease
27:00 Supporting Early Career Investigators
34:50 Academic Freedom & Open Science
37:30 Rebuilding Public Trust in Public Health
41:00 Communicating Science Amid Uncertainty
47:50 NIH Priorities: Nutrition, Chronic Disease, AI
50:00 The Future of AI in Science & Medicine
53:30 Advice for Rising Scientists
55:00 The Role and Limits of AI in Science

Resources:

Find Dr. Bhattacharya on X: https://x.com/DrJBhattacharya and https://x.com/NIHDirector_Jay

Find Erik on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Find Jorge on X: https://x.com/JorgeCondeBio

Find Vineeta on X: https://x.com/vintweeta

Learn more about the NIH: https://www.nih.gov/

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