Dr. Francis Collins is the former director of the National Institutes of Health. For the past 12 years, Dr. Collins has overseen the work of the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world. He is noted for landmark discoveries of disease genes and leading the Human Genome Project, including completing the sequence of the human DNA instruction book.

Dr. Collins received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Yale University, and a M.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.