Genomeweb.com is reporting that Dr. Francis Collins is the front runner to be selected as the new head of the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Collins most recently served as director of National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health until August 1, 2008.
Most people in the NF community know Dr. Collins as the leader of the team at the University of Michigan that, along with Ray White’s team from the University of Utah, discovered the gene that causes NF1 in 1990. In addition to NF1, he has helped find the genes that cause cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease and the M4 type of adult acute leukemia.
We were pleased to have honored Dr. Collins at our Gala Dinner in New York City in 2003, and consider him a long time friend of the Foundation – as I am sure many other organizations do as well. His work has made a profound difference in NF and so many other diseases and disorders, it is difficult to overstate his record of accomplishment.
In addition to numerous published research articles, Dr. Collins is the author of the 2006 book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which reconciles religious faith and scientific pursuit.
Dr. Collins would make an excellent Director of NIH, but whether he gets this position or not, we continue to look forward to his contributions to research.
John
