Washington — Francis S. Collins, a former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, may be in line to head the National Institutes of Health in the Obama administration.
A report in Science magazine’s ScienceInsider blog cites Alan O. Trounson, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in San Francisco, as saying he has heard repeated mention of Dr. Collins for the post of NIH director.
Dr. Collins, asked about the matter at a meeting last week of an Obama transition team, said, “No comment,” ScienceInsider reported.
Dr. Collins led NIH participation in the Human Genome Project before resigning last August to explore other professional opportunities. He had been at the NIH since 1993, after serving on the faculty of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. —Paul Basken
