Lawrence A. Tabak

WASHINGTON -- Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday named Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD, as Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to temporarily replace outgoing director Francis Collins, MD, PhD.

"Dr. Tabak's long tenure and broad experience at the NIH will ensure that the agency is in capable hands and serve it well during the search for Dr. Collins' successor," Becerra said in a statement. "Dr. Tabak has a deep grasp of the most pressing scientific issues confronting our nation; he has earned respect across NIH as a thoughtful and strategic manager and is committed to building a healthier and more equitable America."

Collins, 71, announced on October 5 that he was stepping down from his position after 13 years at the helm. "I love this agency and its people so deeply that the decision to step down was a difficult one, done in close counsel with my wife, Diane Baker, and my family," Collins said in a statement. "I am proud of all we've accomplished. I fundamentally believe, however, that no single person should serve in the position too long, and that it's time to bring in a new scientist to lead the NIH into the future."

Collins was appointed as NIH director in 2009 by President Obama, and was asked by both President Trump and President Biden to remain in the job. Prior to becoming NIH director, he served as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute from 1993 to 2008, where he led the Human Genome Project.

As NIH director, Collins started the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, a multi-billion-dollar research project involving brain-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and psychosis. He also worked closely with then-Vice President Biden to launch the Cancer Moonshot Initiative to develop cancer treatments.

Collins' tenure at NIH has not been without controversy. As the Washington Post noted in its story on Collins' resignation

New Democrat Coalition’ Members of Congress Get NIH Lab Tours

Visiting NIH recently are (seated, from l) U.S. Reps. Scott Peters (D-CA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Susan Davis (D-CA) and Kathleen Rice (D-NY); standing behind them are NIH leaders (from l) NHLBI director Dr. Gary Gibbons, NIH director Dr. Francis Collins, NIH deputy director for extramural research Dr. Mike Lauer and NIH principal deputy director Dr. Lawrence Tabak.

Happy holidays to one and all! As you may have heard, this is my last holiday season as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—a post that I’ve held for the past 12 years and four months under three U.S. Presidents. And, wow, it really does seem like only yesterday that I started this blog!
At the blog’s outset, I said my goal was to “highlight new discoveries in biology and medicine that I think are game changers, noteworthy, or just plain cool.” More than 1,100 posts, 10 million unique visitors, and 13.7 million views later, I hope you’ll agree that goal has been achieved. I’ve also found blogging to be a whole lot of fun, as well as a great way to expand my own horizons and share a little of what I’ve learned about biomedical advances with people all across the nation and around the world.
So, as I sign off as NIH Director and return to my lab at NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), I want to thank everyone who’s ever visited this Blog—from high school students to people with health concerns, from biomedical researchers to policymakers. I hope that the evidence-based information that I’ve provided has helped and informed my readers in some small way.
In this my final post, I’m sharing a short video (see above) that highlights just a few of the blog’s many spectacular images, many of them produced by NIH-funded scientists during the course of their research. In the video, you’ll see a somewhat quirky collection of entries, but hopefully you will sense my enthusiasm for the potential of biomedical research to fight human disease and improve human health—from innovative immunotherapies for treating cancer to the gift of mRNA vaccines to combat a pandemic.
Over the years, I’ve blogged about many of the bold, new frontiers of biomedicine that are now being explored by research teams supported by NIH. Who would have imagined that, within the span of a dozen years, precision medicine would go from being an interesting idea to a drivin

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