Former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins

[noumoe]

Former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins unexpectedly retired on Friday, writing in a statement that employees of the government's biomedical research institution "deserve the utmost respect and support of all Americans."

The noted geneticist's departure comes amid research funding cuts and terminations of probationary workers that have raised concern about a exodus of scientific and technical talent at federal agencies.

Collins didn't give a reason for his retirement and has declined requests for interviews. But his statement referenced a time when "investment in medical research was seen as a high priority and a nonpolitical bipartisan effort."

When you hear about patients surviving stage 4 cancer because of immunotherapy, that was based on NIH research over many decades. When you hear about sickle-cell disease being cured because of CRISPR gene editing, that was built on many years of research supported by NIH," he wrote.

Collins stepped down as NIH director at the end of 2021 after serving in the role for 12 years under three presidents and being at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic response.

He returned to his lab to pursue projects that included understanding the causes and prevention for type 2 diabetes.

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/02/former ... ns-retires