Francis Collins

Francis Collins
Official portrait, 2017
Science Advisor to the President
Acting
In office
February 18, 2022 – October 3, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byEric Lander
Succeeded byArati Prabhakar
16th Director of the National Institutes of Health
In office
August 17, 2009 – December 19, 2021
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Joe Biden
DeputyLawrence A. Tabak
Preceded byRaynard S. Kington (acting)
Succeeded byLawrence A. Tabak (acting)
2nd Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute
In office
April 1993 – August 1, 2008
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byMichael M. Gottesman (acting)
Succeeded byAlan Edward Guttmacher (acting)
Personal details
Born
Francis Sellers Collins

(1950-04-14) April 14, 1950 (age 74)
Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
SpouseDiane Baker
EducationUniversity of Virginia (BS)
Yale University (MS, PhD)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (MD)
Scientific career
FieldsMolecular genetics
Institutions
ThesisSemiclassical theory of vibrationally inelastic scattering, with application to H+ + H₂ (1974)
Doctoral advisorJames Cross

Francis Sellers Collins ForMemRS (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-scientist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He served as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, from 17 August 2009 to 19 December 2021, serving under three presidents.[1][2]

Before being appointed director of the NIH, Collins led the Human Genome Project and other genomics research initiatives as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the 27 institutes and centers at NIH. Before joining NHGRI, he earned a reputation as a gene hunter at the University of Michigan.[3] He has been elected to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science.

Collins also has written books on science, medicine, and religion, including the New York Times bestseller, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. After leaving the directorship of NHGRI and before becoming director of the NIH, he founded and served as president of The BioLogos Foundation, which promotes discourse on the relationship between science and religion and advocates the perspective that belief in Christianity can be reconciled with acceptance of evolution and science, especially through the idea that the Creator brought about his plan through the processes of evolution.[4] In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Collins to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.[5]

On October 5, 2021, Collins announced that he would resign as NIH director by the end of the year.[6] Four months later in February 2022, he joined the Cabinet of Joe Biden as Acting Science Advisor to the President, replacing Eric Lander.[7][8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference hhs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference WaPo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Gene Therapy Cures Cystic Fibrosis In Lab". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  4. ^ "About The BioLogos Foundation". The Biologos Foundation. Retrieved May 3, 2014. We embrace the historical Christian faith, upholding the authority and inspiration of the Bible. We affirm evolutionary creation, recognizing God as Creator of all life over billions of years. We seek truth, ever learning as we study the natural world and the Bible.
  5. ^ "Human genome and embryology experts named to Pontifical Academy of Sciences". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference resignation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Faith, Science and Francis Collins". The New Yorker. April 7, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  8. ^ "Keynote Remarks at the 7th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum)". United States Mission to the United Nations. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.

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