(Trends Wide) — Dr. Francis Collins announced Tuesday that he will step down as director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the end of the year.
“It has been an incredible privilege to lead this great agency for more than a decade,” Collins said in a statement released Tuesday morning.
“I love this agency and its people so deeply that the decision to resign has been a difficult one, made in close contact with my wife, Diane Baker, and my family. I am proud of all that we have accomplished. However, I fundamentally believe that none The person must have been in office for too long, and that the time has come to bring in a new scientist to lead NIH in the future. I am very grateful and proud of the NIH staff and the scientific community, whose extraordinary commitment to life-saving research gives hope to the American people and the world every day, “he added.
Collins is the NIH director appointed by a longest-serving president and has served three US leaders for more than 12 years, the agency said in a press release.
The Washington Post and Politico reported Monday night that Francis Collins would step down from running the research agency and would return to his previous job as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute.
