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 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 theistic evolution 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]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
hhswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
WaPowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Gene Therapy Cures Cystic Fibrosis In Lab". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Human genome and embryology experts named to Pontifical Academy of Sciences". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
resignationwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Faith, Science and Francis Collins". The New Yorker. April 7, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ "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.