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STAT+: Tara Schwetz, who oversaw creation of ARPA-H, placed on leave by NIH
The NIH has placed deputy director Tara Schwetz on administrative leave, marking the third senior leader to depart the agency since the Trump administration took power roughly nine weeks ago.
The National Institutes of Health on Wednesday placed deputy director Tara Schwetz on administrative leave, according to a source familiar with the decision, marking the third time a senior leader has departed the agency since the Trump administration took power roughly nine weeks ago.
Schwetz had served as deputy director for coordination, planning, and strategic initiatives, a position she has held since late 2023. She previously served on a detail to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she played an instrumental role in the creation of ARPA-H, the new “moonshot” science agency housed within the NIH.
The move, which is effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday, comes less than a day after the Senate’s confirmation of Jay Bhattacharya, the Stanford University researcher selected by President Trump to lead the agency in November.
