President Bush Awards Medal of Freedom to HHS Scientist Dr. Francis S. Collins

November 5, 2007 - President George W. Bush awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to physician Francis S. Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, in the East Room. (White House photo by Eric Draper)

November 14, 2007 - President George W. Bush has awarded the Medal of Freedom to Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the 27 Institutes and Centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civil award, established by Executive Order in 1963. The President may award the Medal "to any person who has made an especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Dr. Collins was the only scientist among the eight Americans honored during a White House ceremony on Monday, November 5, 2007. He holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Yale University, and an M.D. from the University of North Carolina. He is a member of the U.S. Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Collins received the recognition because of his leadership in revolutionizing genetic research. Under his direction, the Human Genome Project (HGP) mapped and sequenced the full human genome, and greatly expanded our understanding of human DNA, a task accomplished ahead of schedule and under budget. The HGP made immediate deposit of all of the information into public databases, so the scientific and medical community could set to work on applying these discoveries for human benefit.

At HHS/NIH/NHGRI since 1993, Dr. Collins has overseen numerous accomplishments, including the HGP, the completion of the International HapMap Project, the launch of genome-wide association studies that help reveal the genetic underpinnings of common diseases, and many other contributions that help lay the foundation for personalized medicine. He has also dedicated himself to attending to the ethical, legal, and social implications of genome research with just as much intensity as the bench science.

According to HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, "Dr. Collins’s work epitomizes the significant impact we can have – individually and collectively – through public service."

For more information:

• President Bush Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients:

  http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071105-1.html

  (White House)
• White House:

  http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Last revised: February 24, 2010