50 Most Influential Physician Executives – 2017

Dr. Francis Collins was appointed the 16th director of the National Institutes of Health by President Barack Obama and was sworn in on Aug. 17, 2009. He oversees the work of the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world, spanning the spectrum of scientific research. Collins is a physician-geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the international Human Genome Project, which culminated with the complete sequencing of human DNA. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2007 and received the National Medal of Science in 2009.