Francis Collins - Leadership at NHGRI

Leadership At NHGRI

Collins accepted an invitation in 1993 to succeed James D. Watson as Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research, which became National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in 1997. As Director, he oversaw the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium.

In 1994, he founded NHGRI's Division of Intramural Research (DIR), a collection of investigator-directed laboratories that conduct genome research on the NIH campus and has developed into one of the nation's premier research centers in human genetics.

The milestones of NHGRI during the time Collins was director are documented in the article List of events in NHGRI history.

A working draft of the human genome was announced in June 2000, and Collins was joined by US President Bill Clinton and biologist Craig Venter in making the announcement. Venter and Collins thus shared the "Biography of the Year" title from A&E Network. An initial analysis was published in February 2001. HGP scientists continued to work toward finishing the sequence of all three billion base pairs by 2003, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Watson and Crick's seminal publication of the structure of DNA. In 2005 Collins and Venter were also honored as two of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report and the Harvard Center for Public Leadership Collins's commitment to free, rapid access to genomic information helped to make all data immediately available to the worldwide scientific community.

One of the main activities at NHGRI during his tenure as director was the composition of the haplotype map of the human genome. The now-completed "hap map" project produced a catalog of genetic variations—called single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—which is now being widely used to discover genetic variations correlated with disease risk.

In addition to his basic genetic research and scientific leadership, Collins is known for his close attention to ethical and legal issues in genetics. He has been a strong advocate for protecting the privacy of genetic information and has served as a national leader in efforts to prohibit gene-based insurance discrimination. Building on his own experiences as a physician volunteer in a rural missionary hospital in Nigeria, Collins is also very interested in opening avenues for genome research to benefit the health of people living in developing nations.

Collins announced his resignation from NHGRI on May 28, 2008, saying he would continue to lead an intramural research laboratory as a "volunteer"; this will allow several graduate and postdoctoral students to complete projects undertaken under his tenure.

He has received numerous awards and honors, including election to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. He was a Kilby International Awards recipient in 1993. In 2007, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And, in 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Science.