HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly favors Stanford (Calif.) University psychiatrist Shebani Sethi, MD, PhD, to lead the National Institute of Mental Health, bypassing a candidate recommended by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, Science reported Oct. 23.
Dr. Bhattacharya had told Vikaas Sohal, MD, PhD, a University of California San Francisco psychiatrist and neuroscientist, that he was the frontrunner for the role, according to Science. Dr. Sohal met with Mr. Kennedy for an interview several months ago, though he never received a formal offer. This week, he learned Mr. Kennedy had chosen to pursue someone else. Dr. Sohal declined to comment to Science.
Dr. Sethi’s research centers on metabolic psychiatry, a field that uses diet, including ketogenic eating plans, as a treatment for mental illness. Her work aligns with priorities of the Make America Healthy Again movement, and she attended a private MAHA summit in November 2025 that addressed food as medicine. Although she applied for the NIMH post, NIH’s search committee did not include her among its recommended finalists, the report said. Whether she has received an offer is unknown.
The NIMH search is one of several leadership contests across NIH’s 27 institutes and centers. Mr. Kennedy also passed over Dr. Bhattacharya’s choice for director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, selecting Steven Quay, MD, PhD, instead, Politico reported weeks ago. STAT later reported that Dr. Quay was out of the running.
NIMH manages $2.2 billion in research funding. HHS did not answer Science’s questions about the search, and Dr. Sethi did not reply to the publication’s inquiry.
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