Longest-serving National Institutes of Health chief, Francis Collins, to step down
By 
Rebecca Trager2021-10-07T14:14:00
Head of $41 billion US biomedical research agency will depart at the end of the year
After heading the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for over 12 years under three US presidents, physician-geneticist Francis Collins has announced that he will leave by the end of the year.
Collins is the longest serving presidentially appointed director of the NIH. ‘I am proud of all we’ve accomplished. I fundamentally believe, however, that no single person should serve in the position too long, and that it’s time to bring in a new scientist to lead the NIH into the future,’ he said in a 5 October statement.