Francis Collins

Francis Collins
Born	Francis Sellers Collins 14 4, 1950
Birthplace	Staunton, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Physician-scientist, geneticist, government official
Known for	Human Genome Project, gene discovery, directing the National Institutes of Health
Education	University of Virginia (BS) Yale University (MS, PhD) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (MD)
Spouse(s)	Diane Baker
Children	2
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom, National Medal of Science

Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-scientist and geneticist who played a central role in some of the most consequential biomedical research efforts of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He is best known for his leadership of the Human Genome Project, the international effort to map and sequence the entirety of human DNA, and for his subsequent tenure as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 2009 to 2021, during which he served under three U.S. presidents. Before his work on the Human Genome Project, Collins gained prominence as a gene hunter, contributing to the discovery of genes responsible for several major diseases, including cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, and Huntington's disease. He has been elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science. Beyond his scientific work, Collins has become a prominent public voice on the relationship between science and religious faith, authoring the New York Times bestseller The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief and founding The BioLogos Foundation. Following his departure from the NIH directorship, he served as Acting Science Advisor to President Joe Biden in 2022.

Early Life

Francis Sellers Collins was born on April 14, 1950, in Staunton, Virginia. He grew up in a rural setting in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. His parents were intellectually engaged and unconventional educators; his father was a professor of English at Mary Baldwin College and his mother was a playwright. Collins was homeschooled until the sixth grade, receiving an education that emphasized creativity, the arts, and independent thinking. His early childhood was characterized by an immersion in music and the humanities rather than the sciences.

Collins has described his upbringing as one in which formal religious instruction was largely absent. His family's approach to faith was casual, and by his teenage years he identified as an agnostic, a position that later shifted toward atheism during his early years in graduate school. His eventual conversion to Christianity as a young physician, influenced in part by the writings of C. S. Lewis, became a defining element of his public identity and the subject of much of his later writing and public speaking.

Growing up on a small farm, Collins developed an early interest in chemistry, which he pursued initially as a hobby before it became a serious academic focus. His path into science was not straightforward; he has recounted that his interests shifted considerably during his undergraduate and graduate education before he settled on the intersection of genetics and medicine.

Education

Collins earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia in 1970. He then pursued graduate study in physical chemistry at Yale University, where he completed both a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy degree. His doctoral dissertation, completed in 1974, was titled Semiclassical theory of vibrationally inelastic scattering, with application to H⁺ + H₂ and was supervised by James Cross.

During his time at Yale, Collins became increasingly drawn to the biological sciences, particularly the emerging field of molecular biology and its potential applications to human medicine. This interest prompted him to pursue a medical degree after completing his PhD. He enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, graduating with his MD in 1977. The combination of a PhD in physical chemistry and an MD gave Collins an unusual interdisciplinary foundation that would prove instrumental in his later career as a gene hunter and leader of large-scale genomic initiatives.

Career

Early Research and Gene Discovery

Following his medical training, Collins completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in human genetics at Yale University. He subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Michigan, where he rapidly established himself as one of the foremost gene hunters in the field of molecular genetics. At Michigan, Collins developed a technique known as positional cloning, sometimes referred to as "chromosome jumping," which enabled researchers to identify disease-causing genes without prior knowledge of the protein they encoded. This method represented a significant methodological advance and was instrumental in several landmark discoveries.

Among the most significant of Collins's gene discoveries was the identification in 1989 of the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis, a common and often fatal genetic disorder. Collins and his collaborators pinpointed mutations in the CFTR gene on chromosome 7 as the cause of the disease. This discovery was hailed as a major breakthrough in medical genetics and opened the door to potential therapeutic interventions.

Collins's laboratory also contributed to the identification of genes associated with neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease, and a rare form of premature aging syndrome, among other conditions. His work during this period established him as a leading figure in human genetics and earned him numerous accolades from the scientific community.

Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute

In April 1993, Collins was appointed as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the 27 institutes and centers that constitute the National Institutes of Health. In this role, he succeeded James Watson (with Michael M. Gottesman serving as acting director in the interim) as head of the U.S. government's contribution to the Human Genome Project, an ambitious international effort to sequence the approximately three billion base pairs of the human genome.

Under Collins's leadership, the Human Genome Project achieved several major milestones. The project had been launched in 1990 with the goal of completing the sequence by 2005, but under Collins's direction the timeline was accelerated. In June 2000, Collins and Craig Venter, the head of the private firm Celera Genomics, jointly announced, alongside President Bill Clinton, the completion of the first draft of the human genome sequence. The finished sequence was published in 2003, two years ahead of the original schedule.

The sequencing of the human genome was widely recognized as one of the most important scientific achievements in history, comparable in its significance to the Moon landing. Collins shepherded the publicly funded effort through a period of intense competition with Venter's privately funded initiative, navigating complex scientific, ethical, and political terrain. He was a strong advocate for making the genome data freely and publicly available, a position that stood in contrast to the approach favored by some commercial entities.

Collins continued to lead NHGRI through 2008, overseeing the transition from the Human Genome Project to a broader agenda of genomics research, including efforts to understand the functional significance of the genome sequence, develop new genomic technologies, and translate genomic knowledge into clinical practice. He also championed the International HapMap Project and the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project during this period.

Collins stepped down as NHGRI director on August 1, 2008.

The BioLogos Foundation

In the interval between leaving NHGRI and becoming NIH director, Collins founded The BioLogos Foundation in 2007. The organization was established to promote discourse on the relationship between science and religious faith, particularly Christianity. BioLogos advocates the perspective that acceptance of evolution and modern science can be reconciled with belief in God, a position known as theistic evolution or evolutionary creation. The foundation grew out of themes Collins explored in his 2006 book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which became a New York Times bestseller.

Collins served as president of BioLogos until his confirmation as NIH director, at which point he resigned to avoid potential conflicts of interest. The foundation has continued its work independently and remains an active participant in conversations about science and faith.

Director of the National Institutes of Health

On August 17, 2009, Collins was sworn in as the 16th director of the National Institutes of Health, having been nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate. He succeeded Raynard S. Kington, who had served as acting director.

As NIH director, Collins oversaw the agency's annual budget of more than $30 billion and its portfolio of biomedical and public health research spanning 27 institutes and centers. He served in the role for over twelve years, making him one of the longest-serving NIH directors in the agency's history and the only director to be appointed by three consecutive presidents: Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden.

During his tenure, Collins led or advanced a number of high-profile research initiatives. These included the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, launched in 2013 to accelerate the development of technologies for understanding the human brain; the Precision Medicine Initiative (later renamed the All of Us Research Program), aimed at building a large-scale research cohort to advance individualized medical treatments; and the Cancer Moonshot, an effort to accelerate cancer research. Collins also oversaw NIH's response to multiple public health challenges, including the Ebola outbreak and the Zika virus epidemic.

Perhaps the most consequential challenge of Collins's directorship was the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020. Collins played a central role in the federal government's scientific response, including the Operation Warp Speed initiative that supported the record-breaking development of COVID-19 vaccines. Under his leadership, NIH made significant investments in the development, testing, and distribution of vaccines and therapeutics. Collins has stated that the rapid development of effective vaccines represented one of the most significant achievements in the history of biomedical research.

Collins's role during the pandemic also drew criticism from some quarters. His public disagreements with scientists who favored alternative approaches to pandemic management, including the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, became a source of controversy. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University professor who co-authored the declaration and who was later nominated as NIH director by President Trump, stated in 2025 that he and Collins had "forgiven each other" following their clash over COVID-19 policy.

In August 2013, Collins issued a statement on behalf of NIH regarding the use of HeLa cells, establishing a new framework for access to the HeLa genome sequence data in consultation with the family of Henrietta Lacks, from whom the cells had been derived without consent in 1951.

On October 5, 2021, Collins announced his intention to resign as NIH director by the end of the year. He stepped down on December 19, 2021, with Lawrence A. Tabak serving as acting director following his departure.

Collins announced his formal retirement from NIH on March 1, 2025, after 32 years of service to the agency.

Acting Science Advisor to the President

On February 18, 2022, Collins joined the Cabinet of President Joe Biden as Acting Science Advisor to the President, replacing Eric Lander, who had resigned from the position. In this role, Collins advised the president on matters of science and technology policy. He served in the position until October 3, 2022, when he was succeeded by Arati Prabhakar.

Personal Life

Collins is married to Diane Baker, a genetic counselor. He has two children.

Collins is an outspoken Evangelical Christian, having converted to Christianity from atheism at the age of 27, influenced by his experiences as a medical student caring for dying patients and by the writings of C. S. Lewis, particularly Mere Christianity. His faith has been a defining aspect of his public life, and he has spoken and written extensively about his belief that science and religion are compatible rather than contradictory. In interviews, he has described science as "glimpsing God's mind" and has argued that the study of nature deepens rather than undermines religious faith.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Collins to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Collins is also known for his musical interests. He plays guitar and has performed in a rock band composed of NIH scientists and other government officials, known informally as the "NIH Directors' Band" or similar ensembles. He has been known to perform at various NIH events and public gatherings.

Following his departure from government, Collins has remained active as a public speaker, addressing audiences on topics at the intersection of science, faith, and public policy. In 2025, he delivered addresses at venues including Brigham Young University and events in Spokane, Washington, where he cautioned against "tribal alliances" and encouraged civil dialogue.

Recognition

Collins has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. Among the most significant are the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, and the National Medal of Science, recognizing his contributions to genetics and genomics.

He has been elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), two of the most prestigious scientific bodies in the United States. His election to both academies reflects the breadth of his contributions, spanning basic science and clinical medicine.

Collins is a recipient of the Inamori Ethics Prize, awarded by the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Collins to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, a recognition of his contributions to science and his engagement with questions of faith and ethics.

Collins has appeared in numerous media outlets to discuss his work and views. He appeared on The Colbert Report in October 2009, shortly after becoming NIH director, to discuss science and faith. He has also been profiled in publications including The New Republic, which described him as one of Washington's most powerful yet least famous figures.

Legacy

Francis Collins's career spans a period of extraordinary transformation in the biomedical sciences, and his contributions have been at the center of several of its defining moments. His work in gene discovery during the 1980s and 1990s helped establish the field of positional cloning and led directly to the identification of genes responsible for some of the most significant genetic diseases, altering both the scientific understanding of these conditions and the possibilities for diagnosis and treatment.

His leadership of the Human Genome Project is widely considered one of the most important scientific management achievements of the modern era. The decision to make the human genome sequence freely available to all researchers has had lasting implications for the pace and direction of biomedical research worldwide. The project laid the groundwork for the field of genomics and enabled subsequent large-scale efforts such as the ENCODE project and genome-wide association studies that continue to shape the understanding of human biology and disease.

As NIH director, Collins steered the agency through a period of significant challenges and opportunities, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid development of mRNA vaccines under NIH's support has been described as one of the most consequential achievements in public health history, though Collins's role in pandemic policy has also been subject to debate and scrutiny.

Collins's public engagement with questions of science and faith has distinguished him from many of his scientific contemporaries. Through his writings, public lectures, and the BioLogos Foundation, he has contributed to ongoing discussions about the compatibility of scientific inquiry and religious belief, reaching audiences well beyond the scientific community. His conversion story and advocacy for the harmony of faith and reason continue to resonate in both religious and academic settings.

In 2025, Collins continued to participate in public discourse, delivering lectures and engaging in conversations about the future of science, the importance of civil dialogue, and the role of faith in public life.