Yahoo Finance The top US medical research official's future is unclear under Trump
By Inauguration Day, many of Donald Trump’s nominees will have begun the sometimes-brutal process of confirmation hearings before Congress.
But no matter who becomes an official part of the Trump administration, a big question mark remains regarding the leadership of the nation’s medical research agency.
The current director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Francis Collins, told Yahoo Finance that he doesn’t know what will happen under the incoming Trump administration.
“Certainly there has been some discussion of that possibility [of staying], but as of now I’m not in a position to say whether I’m staying on or not — that remains to be decided,” Collins told Yahoo Finance in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In Collins’ corner is Trump consigliere Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and early Trump supporter, whom Collins met 20 years ago – in Davos – after Collins gave a presentation as director of the Genome Project.
“He got fascinated by what this might mean, reading out our own DNA instruction book, and he took me aside after the session and we spent an hour, walking through what it would mean to have that information in terms of health, and particularly what it could do in terms of prevention and treatment of disease,” Collins told Yahoo Finance. “He occasionally pops up in my email inbox with an interesting observation or question about neuroscience or maybe a new development in medical treatment.”
Even with Gingrich’s support, and the support of other prominent Republicans, Collins, who was appointed to the role by President Obama, is no shoo-in to stay on at NIH. According to the Wall Street Journal, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) has met with Trump about the position, and Collins has faced scrutiny over delays brought on by a fungus problem in a NIH pharmacy.
Unlike other appointments Trump is deliberating over, the choice and consideration of NIH director doesn’t fall on party lines. In fact, according to Collins, the NIH is not much affected by partisan politics.
“I’m particularly reassured. Of all the things that get decided on in Washington, biomedical research seems to be the one everybody agrees is a good investment,” he said. “The return you get back on that in terms of advances in human health, stimulating the economy, encouraging the American leadership—it’s a win-win.”
To that end, Collins is optimistic about the incoming administration and the new 115th Congress.
“Congress has, in fact, very much—in the last couple of years—moved the needle in a direction I find quite gratifying, last year increasing NIH funding by about 7%,” he said, noting that he was expecting something similar this year for the next appropriation resolution. “So I’m encouraged. This is such a good story, it doesn’t need any special interest lobbying for it.”
According to Collins, even small-government, pro-market hawks have reason to approve of the NIH. The universal appeal is simple. “If the government doesn’t fund the basic science, it’s not going to get done,” Collins said. “It’s not the sort of thing the private sector can afford to put their dollars into—it wouldn’t be connected soon to the product.”
Read More from Davos:
AARP CEO: Trumpcare needs these 4 basic principles
Salesforce CEO: I’m not changing how i run my business under Trump
Why ‘your hair is on fire’ if you’re a European at Davos this year
Princeton president: I hope Congress doesn’t tax our endowment
