Dr. Francis Collins is stepping down as director of the National Institutes of Health, the Washington Post and Politico reported Monday night
The Post said Collins, who has been director of the NIH since 2009, would leave by the end of the year. The Post quoted"an NIH official" as saying no decision has been made on an interim director. The NIH director's position is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
NIH gives out close to $42 billion every year for medical research and 6,000 scientists work in its own laboratories on the sprawling NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, right outside Washington, DC.He's Dr. Anthony Fauci's boss, as the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is one of the many institutes that make up NIH.