A Detective Story
On October 16, 2025, Francis Collins, Ph.D., M.D., physician-geneticist, former director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and leader of the landmark Human Genome Project, joined the Conversations in Health: Global to Local class to reflect on his life, faith, and the future of science.
Dr. Collins described a childhood immersed not in laboratories, but in literature and music.
Growing up on a 98-acre farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, he was homeschooled by his parents, both academics, who cultivated curiosity, the love of learning and music. Dr. Collins shared an anecdote about being an 11-year-old who dismissed the musical future of a young musician called Robert Zimmerman, who was visiting their farm. His fascination with science began only in high school, when a chemistry teacher framed it as “a detective story” about uncovering the truth. From there, his path led to a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale University and eventually to medical school at the University of North Carolina, where an encounter with medical genetics revealed to him what he called “the perfect intersection of math, information, and humanity.”
As a young researcher at the University of Michigan, Dr. Collins’s perseverance led to the discovery of the cystic fibrosis gene, a finding once thought impossible. Soon after, he was asked to lead the Human Genome Project, a role he initially declined until NIH Director Bernadine Healy convinced him that he might one day regret saying no. Under his leadership, the project finished ahead of schedule and under budget, unlocking the three billion letters of human DNA and forever transforming medicine.
Dr. Collins also offered a candid reflection on today’s scientific landscape. He described an “unprecedented assault” on medical research funding and a troubling erosion of public trust in science. Yet, he emphasized that these setbacks come amid an era of “breathtaking progress,” citing breakthroughs in CRISPR gene editing and cancer immunotherapy that are curing diseases once deemed untreatable. To help rebuild confidence, he discussed his “We Are Living Proof” campaign, which uses one-minute patient stories to remind the public and policymakers of why science matters.
When asked about the tension between science and faith, Dr. Collins spoke openly about his own spiritual journey, from atheism to Christianity, and the harmony he finds between belief and evidence. Quoting Francis Bacon’s idea of “God’s Two Books,” he suggested that conflicts arise not from contradiction, but from human misinterpretation. He noted that his morning discipline of prayer and reflection continues to ground him, describing faith as “a rock to stand on in the middle of a storm.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Collins identified the Brain Initiative as the next “Human Genome Project,” a generational effort to map the brain’s circuits and understand consciousness itself. Despite the complexity, he remains optimistic, urging students to defend science from politicization and to keep their work centered on people.
Throughout his talk, Dr. Collins returned to one theme: the pursuit of truth, whether through faith or science, demands humility, curiosity, and courage. His life’s work stands as proof that reason and belief, far from being opposing forces, can together illuminate what it means to be human.
Anshuraj Pal (C’27) is an undergraduate student majoring in economics at Georgetown University.