WASHINGTON - Dr. Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, announced his decision to step down by the end of 2021 after having led the research center for more than a decade — including during the global COVID-19 pandemic. "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," Collins, 71, said in a statement posted Tuesday on the NIH’s website.Based in Bethesda, Maryland, and a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the nation’s medical research agency and operates more than two dozen institutes and centers.