Francis Collins

Director, NIH

Dr. Francis Collins has served as the director of the National Institutes of Health since August, 2009. He is the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he led the successful effort to complete the Human Genome Project—which mapped and sequenced all of the human DNA and determined aspects of its function. The project built the foundation upon which subsequent genetic research is being performed. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. In 2007 Collins received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and in 2009 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Collins has also published several books about the intersection of science and faith, including the New York Times bestseller "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."

The Well

Is religion a threat to science?

Some scientists see religion as a threat to the scientific method that should be resisted. But faith “is really asking a different set of questions,” says Collins.

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Francis Collins

We Need Two Kinds of Truth: Why I Don’t Want Science or Religion to Win

I would not want to look forward to a culture where science lost and religious faith became the dominating force for truth. I would not want to live in a culture where faith lost and science, with all of its reductionism and its materialism became the sole source of truth.

Maybe God Didn’t Intend His Existence to be Easy to Determine

What’s the evidence for the idea that God exists or doesn’t exist?

Helping Research Projects Over the ‘Valley of Death’

The so-called ‘Valley of Death’ is where a lot of research projects die.

How Do You Measure Return on Investment in Medicine?

Francis Collins: we need to be prepared at any moment to defend the choices we’ve made as having had the best chance of benefiting real people out there who are counting on the NIH to use their money wisely.

Surprising Science

The Dawn of Personalized Medicine

Conventional chemotherapy is like trying to turn off the lights in your kitchen by nuking your house. Personalized medicine will try to turn off the lights by flipping a switch.

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Turning Scientific Discoveries Into Treatments

NIH has to play a larger role in working with the private sector to get more effective treatments through the development pipeline, approved by the FDA, and into the hands […]

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Francis Collins

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Does Religious Belief Affect Scientific Inquiry?

“Whether or not scientists are believers should not have a whole lot to do with how they conduct science,” says Collins. He wishes more scientists were willing “to stand up […]

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Francis Collins

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Why It’s So Hard for Scientists to Believe in God

Some scientists see religion as a threat to the scientific method that should be resisted. But faith “is really asking a different set of questions,” says Collins.

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5 min

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Francis Collins

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How Close Are We to “Personalized” Medicines?

The NIH chief talks about attempts to factor an individual’s genetic profile into the way the person is diagnosed and treated.

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4 min

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Francis Collins

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How Geneticists Link Genes to Diseases

The former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute describes how researchers compare DNA sequences to pinpoint which genes cause which diseases.

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4 min

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Francis Collins

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An “Uncomfortable and Unstable” Situation for Stem Cell Research

Recent uncertainty about whether federal funds can be used for for human embryonic stem cell research has “cast a cold chill” through the field, says Collins.

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5 min

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Francis Collins

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“Our Grandchildren Will Not Live as Long as We Do”

We must confront our national obesity crisis, warns NIH director Francis Collins, or face a decrease in life expectancy.

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4 min

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Francis Collins

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How the Recession Has Affected Medical Research

Having a smaller budget is forcing the NIH to be even more specific about how it sets priorities, and, in some instances, to close down productive programs.

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Francis Collins

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What Is ROI in Medical Research?

The real “return” on research investments is in clinical benefits, diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventive measures. The lead time on those is often measured in years, so they can be hard […]

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Francis Collins

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How the NIH Decides What to Fund

“Scientific opportunity has to be a big part of it,” says Francis Collins. Sometimes when a rare disease hits that moment of scientific opportunity it can reveal things about common […]

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Francis Collins

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Big Think Interview With Francis Collins

A conversation with the director of the National Institutes of Health.

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40 min

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Francis Collins