NIH’s Collins to Retire by Year’s End, Plans to Continue With NHGRI
NIH Director Francis Collins plans to retire “by the end of the year” but will stay with NIH, and resume leading his lab at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), NIH announced Tuesday. “It has been an incredible privilege to lead this great agency for more than a decade,” Collins said in a statement on NIH’s website. “I love this agency and its people so deeply that the decision to step down was a difficult one, done in close counsel with my wife, Diane Baker, and my family. I am proud of all we’ve accomplished. I fundamentally believe, however, that no single person should serve in the position too long, and that it’s time to bring in a new scientist to lead the NIH into the future. I’m most grateful and proud of the NIH staff and the scientific community, whose extraordinary commitment to lifesaving research delivers hope to the American people and the world every day.”
Collins is the longest-serving NIH director and the only one to have worked under three presidents—Obama, Trump and Biden. The position requires Senate confirmation. No replacement has been identified. In a statement, President Biden said Collins “was one of the first people I asked to stay in his role with the nation facing one of the worst public health crises in our history. … Millions of people will never know Dr. Collins saved their lives. Countless researchers will aspire to follow in his footsteps. And I will miss the counsel, expertise, and good humor of a brilliant mind and dear friend.”
