The doctor was head of the National Institutes of Health for more than a decade.
Dr. Francis Collins, who led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, has stepped down from the federal government.
Collins said in a March 1 statement that he was retiring. He did not list a reason for his abrupt departure and declined a request for an interview.
Collins, 74, was the director of the NIH from 2009 until December 2021, when he stepped down from the position but remained with the agency, overseeing research into diabetes and a genetic aging disorder.
The doctor said he was honored with a long career at an agency “rightfully called the crown jewel of the federal government for decades.” He said that NIH support enabled a range of scientific advancements, including treatments for cancer and sickle cell disease.
Under President Donald Trump, the NIH has fired more than 1,000 workers.
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 said.
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.
Collins joined the NIH in 1993 to lead the Human Genome Project, which in 2003 completed the mapping of human DNA—two years ahead of schedule and $400 million under budget, Collins noted in his statement.
Collins was head of the NIH when COVID-19 appeared in 2020. Both he and one of his close allies, then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, supported risky research known as gain-of-function in locations outside the United States, including China, where the first COVID-19 cases were detected. After the pandemic started, Collins and Fauci defended the research.
Collins during the pandemic also supported widespread masking and COVID-19 vaccinations as well as lockdowns that shuttered schools and many businesses across the nation. He urged Fauci and others in an email that was later made public to counter the Great Barrington Declaration, which advocated for looser restrictions while letting many people go about their lives as normal.
