Genome 'trailblazer' Collins is departing research institute

— -- Francis S. Collins, the guitar-playing geneticist who mingled a belief in Christianity with a defense of evolution, said Wednesday that he will step down as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, where he led the historic effort to decode the human genome.

Collins, author of three books, said he will leave the institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, on Aug. 1. He plans to write a book on personalized medicine and will explore other endeavors. "It's been a marvelous ride," he told reporters Wednesday. "My time at NHGRI has been the most remarkable in my life."

"Francis has provided 15 years of outstanding leadership to NHGRI and has been a trailblazer in the scientific community," NIH director Elias Zerhouni said in a statement. Collins' deputy, Alan Guttmacher, will serve as acting director during the search for a successor.

Collins, 58, says he chose to leave before he has found a new role because conflict-of-interest rules make negotiating his next position "awkward." He added that President Bush's signing last week of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which Collins championed, played a role in the timing.

He said he plans to consider a variety of options, adding, without mentioning names, that he would consider advising a presidential candidate. "If there's some way I can help in that regard, of course I'd be interested in doing so."

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Collins has served as NHGRI's director since April 1993. He succeeded James Watson, who, with Francis Crick, in 1953 identified the double helix as the structure of DNA. In 2001, Collins appeared with President Bill Clinton and rival biologist J. Craig Venter of Celera Genomics to announce that their teams had produced a rough draft of the human genetic code. Collins announced the project's completion in 2003.

Venter said he "wishes Francis well" and noted that the J. Craig Venter Institute gets significant funding through NHGRI, "so we look forward to continuing to work with the new leadership."