Obama Nominates Francis Collins as NIH Head in Boost for Patient Advocates

President Barack Obama has nominated genomics pioneer Francis Collins as head of the National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services.

Francis Collins

According to a White House Press release, Obama said: “The National Institutes of Health stands as a model when it comes to science and research. My administration is committed to promoting scientific integrity and pioneering scientific research and I am confident that Dr. Francis Collins will lead the NIH to achieve these goals. Dr. Collins is one of the top scientists in the world, and his groundbreaking work has changed the very ways we consider our health and examine disease. I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.”

The nomination has drawn kudos from patient advocates, who see Collins as a strong ally. “This is a critical time for the science associated with health,” said Sharon Terry, president and chief executive officer of Genetic Alliance, an advocacy group that represents thousands of genetic disease organizations. “We must focus the incredible resources, discovery and intelligence of the NIH on systemic solutions. We have a phenomenal palate from which to paint, and now we need to start creating masterpieces. Dr. Collins is the right ‘artist’ for this task.”

Former director of National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Collins led the Institute and an international team to sequence the human genome in a high profile race with Celera, a private company. Collins is best known for that race and its dramatic finish, where “a tie” was declared between the two group. However, for the rest of his stint at NHGRI, Collins focused on helping patients get value from all that genomic data, which cost $2.7 billion to generate. In its press release, the Genetic Alliance notes that “As NHGRI director, [Collins] made great strides in putting that [genomic] information to work by creating many teams and projects that not only elucidated the meaning of the raw data, but also transformed systems and paradigms associated with biomedical research. Throughout all of this, Collins kept individuals, families and communities central to the work, focusing on their needs as the driver for scientific discovery”

Collins also has a longstanding interest in the interface between science and faith. His book “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief,” was a New York Times bestseller. He also has a new book coming out in 2010: “The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine”. Collins received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Yale University, and an M.D. with Honors from the University of North Carolina. He has been elected to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2007.