Dr. Francis Collins Leaving NIH Before Christmas; Biden Administration Names Replacement

NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins holds up a model of the coronavirus as he testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee looking into the budget estimates for the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the state of medical research, on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 26, 2021. Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP

The head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will serve his last day on Dec. 19, the Biden administration announced Thursday.

Dr. Francis Collins, the NIH commissioner, previously announced he was stepping down but the exact date he would resign was unclear.