Director, National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive Schedule: Executive Level IV - Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation
- Run the Nation's premiere biomedical and behavioral research organization
- Fund intramural and extramural research to help people live healthier lives and reduce the burdens of illness and disability
- Plan, manage, and coordinate programs and activities of all 27 NIH Institutes and Centers
- Support medical researchers across the US and around the world
- Advise the President and help shape the federal medical research agenda
Key Competencies and Preferred Qualifications:
- Advanced degree
- Extensive background in health policy
- Senior executive experience in government or academia
- Medical research background
Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a complex biomedical and behavioral research enterprise that investigates the causes, treatments, and preventative strategies for diseases—both common and rare. A part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, NIH’s mission is “to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.”
With a budget of $30.62 billion (FY 2012), the NIH is the largest source of funding for medical research in the world, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs by funding thousands of scientists in universities and research institutions in every state across America and around the globe. In total, NIH funds more than 300,000 researchers across 3,000 universities and research institutions, with 80% of this funding in competitive grants. Ten percent of that budget is allocated to the 6,000 intramural scientists in its own laboratories on the Bethesda campus.
The FY 2013 Budget Request for $30.86 billion, down over $1 billion from FY 2012, marks the third consecutive year in which the requested funding has decreased from the year prior. Even with a third consecutive “down year,” budget cuts from the looming January 2013 sequestration plan will likely challenge the NIH and their many programs and grants. Director Collins told the Senate subcommittee that a 7.8% sequester would mean the NIH would fund 2,300 fewer grants in FY 2013. Collins said, “This would have across-the-board implications in both basic and clinical science,” continuing by saying that important programs such as cancer research would be forced to slow down.
Collins voiced his worry about the budget in an October 2011 Washington Post interview: “I do worry, however, that young people also hear the message that resources are increasingly constrained,” and said it is a challenge of his to convey the message that NIH is sustainable, to continue to attract new, young scientists. Without the new and up-and-coming young scientists, NIH and the medical community will struggle, which in turn will negatively benefit the health and well-being of the world.
Another budget-related challenge facing the NIH is Alzheimer’s funding proposed by President Obama in the 2013 Budget Request. The $80 million in proposed funding, new money drawn from the Affordable Care Act of 2010, has come under scrutiny by many in the Senate who feel as though the NIH should reallocate their own proposed funds from FY 2013 instead of receiving the additional $80 million. In a field where funding and grants are the lifeline for research and development, a continued decrease in financial support will force the NIH will to become more efficient.
Responding to the Challenge
Despite these budget challenges and a basic “flattening” of support for medical research in the past 20 years, the NIH continues to make meaningful scientific contributions for the advancement of America and the rest of the World. In his testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Collins said, “NIH is prepared to continue our long tradition of leading the world in the public support of biomedical research. With your support [FY 2013 funding], we can promise continuing advances in medicine, creation of new economic opportunities, and stimulation of American global competitiveness.”
Even with less funding, Collins remains steadfast in the search for fundamental knowledge, and is “looking at every possible means of promoting science rapidly.” Alan I. Leshner, chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is confident in the Director: “Francis Collins is a guy who can speak to top-notch scientists and at the same time has a tremendous skill speaking to the public and policymakers.” Collins will need to utilize these cross-spectrum communication skills in order to continue raising funds for, and speaking on behalf of, the NIH and medicine.