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, director of 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 whose work identifying the genes responsible for several major diseases helped reshape the landscape of modern medicine. He is perhaps best known for his leadership of the Human Genome Project, the international effort to map and sequence the entirety of human DNA, which he guided to its completion in 2003. Collins served as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) from 1993 to 2008 and subsequently as the 16th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from August 2009 to December 2021, a tenure that spanned the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. In February 2022, he joined the Biden Cabinet as Acting Science Advisor to the President. Beyond his scientific career, Collins has engaged in public discourse 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. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, and has received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science. Collins announced his retirement from the NIH on March 1, 2025, after 32 years of service to the agency.

Early Life

Francis Sellers Collins was born on April 14, 1950, in Staunton, Virginia. He grew up on a small farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where his parents fostered a creative and intellectually stimulating environment. His father, Fletcher Collins, was a professor of drama, and his mother, Margaret James Collins, was a playwright. The household placed a strong emphasis on the arts, literature, and independent thinking. Collins was homeschooled by his mother through the sixth grade, an experience he later credited with nurturing his curiosity and love of learning.

As a young man, Collins developed an early interest in science, particularly chemistry. He has described his childhood as one that did not include formal religious instruction; his family's approach was broadly ecumenical, and Collins himself identified as an agnostic and later as an atheist during his young adult years. His journey toward religious faith would not begin until his years in medical school, a transformation that would later become central to his public identity as a scientist who advocates for the compatibility of science and belief.

Collins's formative years in rural Virginia, combined with his parents' emphasis on intellectual engagement and the arts, created a foundation that informed his later multidisciplinary approach to science, ethics, and public service. He has frequently spoken about his upbringing in public lectures and interviews, including a 2025 forum address at Brigham Young University, where he recounted details of his childhood and its influence on his research career.

Education

Collins pursued his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He then enrolled at Yale University, where he obtained both a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in physical chemistry. His doctoral thesis, completed in 1974 under the supervision of James Cross, was titled "Semiclassical theory of vibrationally inelastic scattering, with application to H⁺ + H₂."

Despite his training in physical chemistry, Collins's interests shifted toward biology and medicine during his time at Yale. This intellectual transition led him to pursue a medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his MD. It was during his medical training that Collins encountered patients with genetic diseases, experiences that redirected his career toward the emerging field of molecular genetics. His exposure to patients suffering from conditions with no known genetic basis or treatment catalyzed what would become a lifelong dedication to gene discovery and genomic medicine. Collins has also described his medical school years as the period during which he began a spiritual journey that eventually led him to embrace Christianity, influenced in part by the writings of C. S. Lewis.

Career

Gene Discovery at the University of Michigan

After completing his medical training and a fellowship in human genetics, Collins joined the faculty at the University of Michigan, where he developed a technique known as "positional cloning," a method that allowed researchers to identify disease genes without prior knowledge of the gene's biochemical function. This approach proved transformative for the field of genetics. Using positional cloning, Collins and his collaborators identified the genes responsible for several major diseases, establishing his reputation as one of the foremost "gene hunters" of his generation.

Among the most significant discoveries of Collins's career at Michigan was the identification of the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis in 1989, a breakthrough achieved in collaboration with Lap-Chee Tsui and John R. Riordan. The cystic fibrosis gene discovery was a landmark in the history of genetics and demonstrated the power of positional cloning as a tool for identifying the molecular basis of inherited diseases. Collins's laboratory also contributed to the identification of genes associated with neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease, and a gene linked to adult-onset (type 2) diabetes.

These gene discoveries brought Collins national and international recognition and positioned him as a leading candidate to direct the growing national effort to sequence the human genome.

Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute

In April 1993, Collins was appointed director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the 27 institutes and centers that constitute the NIH. He succeeded Michael M. Gottesman, who had served in an acting capacity. In this role, Collins assumed leadership of the United States' contribution to the Human Genome Project, the ambitious international scientific collaboration aimed at determining the complete sequence of the approximately three billion base pairs that make up human DNA.

Under Collins's direction, the Human Genome Project achieved several major milestones. The project released a working draft of the human genome sequence in June 2000, an event announced jointly by Collins and Craig Venter of Celera Genomics at a White House ceremony hosted by President Bill Clinton. The finished sequence, covering approximately 99 percent of the gene-containing portion of the human genome, was published in April 2003, marking the completion of the project two years ahead of schedule and under budget.

Collins also oversaw the development of policies governing data access and sharing in genomic research, helping to establish the principle that the human genome sequence should be freely available to all researchers. His tenure at NHGRI included the expansion of the institute's research portfolio to encompass not only sequencing but also the study of the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomic research.

Collins served as NHGRI director until August 1, 2008, when he stepped down. He was succeeded in an acting capacity by Alan Edward Guttmacher.

The BioLogos Foundation

After leaving NHGRI and before his appointment as NIH director, Collins founded The BioLogos Foundation in 2007. The organization promotes discussion on the relationship between science and religion, advocating the position that belief in Christianity can be reconciled with the acceptance of evolution and modern science. BioLogos advances the perspective of theistic evolution—the idea that God brought about the natural world, including human life, through evolutionary processes. Collins served as president of the foundation until his confirmation as NIH director in 2009.

The foundation grew out of themes Collins had explored in his 2006 book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which became a New York Times bestseller. In the book, Collins described his personal journey from atheism to Christianity and argued that faith and science are complementary rather than contradictory pursues.

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, following his nomination by President Barack Obama and confirmation by the United States Senate. He succeeded Raynard S. Kington, who had served in an acting capacity. Collins became the longest-serving presidentially appointed NIH director, serving under three consecutive presidents: Obama, Trump, and Biden.

As NIH director, Collins oversaw the agency's annual budget of more than $30 billion—the largest source of biomedical research funding in the world. He led the NIH through a period of significant scientific advancement and public health challenges. Among the major initiatives launched or expanded during his tenure were the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, the Precision Medicine Initiative (later renamed the All of Us Research Program), and the Accelerating Medicines Partnership.

Collins's tenure as NIH director included the agency's response to several public health emergencies, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in 2020. Under his leadership, the NIH played a central role in the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines through Operation Warp Speed and related federal programs. Collins has stated that the record-breaking speed of vaccine development was among the most significant achievements of his career, and he has described the effort as one that reinforced his belief in the value of scientific collaboration.

The pandemic period also brought controversy. Collins became the subject of criticism from some quarters for his public advocacy of masking, social distancing, and vaccination, as well as for his characterization of the Great Barrington Declaration—a document signed by several scientists advocating a focused protection strategy rather than broad lockdowns—as the work of "fringe epidemiologists." This characterization, revealed in emails that became public, generated debate about the NIH's approach to pandemic policy and scientific dissent. In June 2025, Jay Bhattacharya, one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration who was later nominated to serve as NIH director, stated publicly that he and Collins had "forgiven each other" following their clash over pandemic policy.

Collins also addressed ethical questions during his directorship. In 2013, he issued a public statement regarding the use of HeLa cells, the widely used cell line derived from Henrietta Lacks without her consent, acknowledging the ethical failures involved and announcing new policies governing access to the HeLa genome data.

On October 5, 2021, Collins announced that he would resign as NIH director by the end of the year. His last day in the position was December 19, 2021, after which he was succeeded by Lawrence A. Tabak in an acting capacity.

Acting Science Advisor to the President

On February 18, 2022, Collins was appointed Acting Science Advisor to the President and co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) in the Biden Administration, replacing Eric Lander, who had resigned. Collins served in this role until October 3, 2022, when he was succeeded by Arati Prabhakar.

Post-Government Career

Following his departure from the White House, Collins announced his retirement from the NIH on March 1, 2025, after 32 years of service to the agency. He has continued to engage in public speaking, appearing at universities and public forums to discuss science, faith, and public policy. In October 2025, he visited Spokane, Washington, for a discussion on science and faith, during which he cautioned audiences against "tribal alliances" and encouraged people to "listen and love each other again." In late 2025, he appeared in interviews discussing the intersection of medicine and faith, describing science as "glimpsing God's mind."

Collins has also returned to academic engagement, participating in events at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, including a fireside chat at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy titled "Leading Beyond the Lab."

Personal Life

Collins is married to Diane Baker, a genetic counselor. The couple has two children. Collins has spoken publicly about his conversion to Christianity during medical school, a journey he has described as prompted by encounters with patients facing death and by reading the works of C. S. Lewis, particularly Mere Christianity. He has described himself as a serious Christian and has been open about how his faith informs his approach to both science and public service.

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 at NIH events, including appearances with a band composed of NIH scientists and staff.

Recognition

Collins has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to science and public service. He has been elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine), two of the highest honors in American science and medicine.

Among his most significant awards, Collins received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, and the National Medal of Science. He has also received the Inamori Ethics Prize from Case Western Reserve University.

In December 2011, the NIH announced additional honors and recognitions for Collins's leadership during his tenure as director. In 2012, further recognition of his work was noted in the NIH Record.

Collins has been profiled extensively in media outlets. He appeared on The Colbert Report in October 2009, shortly after becoming NIH director, to discuss his work and views on science and faith. He was described by The New Republic as one of "Washington's most powerful, least famous people."

Legacy

Collins's contributions to genetics and genomic medicine have had a lasting impact on the understanding and treatment of human disease. His development of positional cloning techniques in the 1980s and 1990s provided a foundational methodology that enabled the identification of numerous disease-causing genes, a body of work that helped usher in the era of molecular medicine. The completion of the Human Genome Project under his leadership provided the reference sequence that continues to underpin genetic research, diagnostics, and the development of targeted therapies worldwide.

As NIH director, Collins presided over a period of expansion in biomedical research funding and the launch of several large-scale research programs, including the BRAIN Initiative and the All of Us precision medicine program, that continue to shape the research agenda of the agency. His role in the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in facilitating the rapid development and distribution of vaccines, remains a defining chapter of his career, though it is also the subject of ongoing debate regarding pandemic policy and the handling of scientific dissent.

Collins's public engagement with questions of science and faith has also left a distinct mark. Through The Language of God, The BioLogos Foundation, and decades of public lectures and interviews, he has been a prominent voice arguing that scientific inquiry and religious belief need not be in conflict. His appointment to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 2009 reflected the international recognition of his efforts in this area.

His 32 years of service at the NIH, spanning roles from institute director to agency head to presidential science advisor, make Collins one of the most prominent figures in the history of American biomedical research. His career trajectory—from a small farm in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to the leadership of the world's largest biomedical research agency—has been the subject of extensive media coverage and public commentary.