WASHINGTON — Francis Collins, a renowned geneticist and former longtime director of the National Institutes of Health, announced Saturday that he has retired, leaving an agency being upended by budget cuts and layoffs.
Collins — a guitar-playing researcher and evangelical Christian known for finding common ground between religion and science — gave no reason for his abrupt departure. He issued a statement that he’d been honored with a long career at an agency “rightfully called the crown jewel of the federal government for decades.”
He came to the NIH in 1993 to lead the Human Genome Project, which in 2003 completed mapping the human DNA instruction book — two years ahead of schedule and $400 million under budget, Collins noted in his statement Saturday.
Collins, 74, was the NIH’s director for 12 years and under three presidents — Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Collins stepped down from that position in October 2021 to return to his research laboratory, overseeing scientists studying diabetes and progeria, a genetic aging disorder. He also advised Biden on how to combat hepatitis C.
The $48 billion NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research and has long had strong bipartisan support.
NIH plans to slash support for indirect research costs, sending shockwaves through science
NIH employees “are individuals of extraordinary intellect and integrity, selfless and hard-working, generous and compassionate. They personify excellence in every way and they deserve the utmost respect and support of all Americans,” Collins wrote.
In a text message, Collins declined an interview. His retirement had taken effect on Friday.
But his statement defended an agency in turmoil amid the new Trump administration’s funding policies and the recent firings of more than 1,000 workers.
“When you hear about patients surviving stage 4 cancer because of immunotherapy, that was based on NIH research over many decades. When you hear about sickle cell disease being cured because of CRISPR gene editing, that was built on many years of research supported by NIH,” Collins wrote.
Early in his career, Collins discovered the gene that causes cystic fibrosis, which helped lead years later to effective treatment for the lung disease. He credited the discovery to an NIH grant supporting his research at the University of Michigan.
Q&A: Former NIH director Francis Collins on a Trump administration, science, and God
Later, as NIH’s director, he oversaw work to understand and fight serious diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and Covid-19, including vaccines against the coronavirus that have saved millions of lives.
Aside from his NIH work, Collins is known widely for writing on the intersection of religion and science.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
