Dr. Francis S. Collins, a renowned geneticist who ran the National Institutes of Health for 12 years, announced Saturday that he has retired from the institutes and the federal government, issuing a parting statement that offered a pointed, if somewhat veiled, message to the Trump administration, which has fired hundreds of N.I.H. employees.
As I depart N.I.H., I want to express my gratitude and love for the men and women with whom I have worked side by side for so many years, Dr. Collins wrote. They 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.
Dr. Collins, 74, served under three presidents: Barack Obama, Donald J. Trump, and Joseph R. Biden Jr. He became one of the nation’s most recognizable doctors during the coronavirus pandemic, when he helped steer the development of new tests, therapeutics, and vaccines.
He did not give a reason for his retirement, and he said in a text message that he “was not doing any interviews.”
His announcement comes just days before the Senate confirmation hearing, scheduled for this Wednesday, for President Trump’s nominee to be the next director of the N.I.H.: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University, who has expressed disdain for Dr. Collins.
Dr. Collins joined the institutes in 1993, during the administration of President Bill Clinton, and gained acclaim for leading the Human Genome Project, a federal effort to map the human genome, the set of genetic instructions that defines the human organism.
He also became known for his religious views: Dr. Collins is an evangelical Christian who has publicly sought to bridge the divide between science and Christianity, including in a 2006 book, “The Language of God.” Amid the political fallout over the coronavirus pandemic, he joined a group called “Braver Angels” that sought to bridge the partisan divide, and later publicly acknowledged some Covid mistakes.
His carefully crafted statement offered a forceful defense of the N.I.H. and a lament for the days when biomedical research had strong bipartisan support.
Source link
