"Dr Collins is one of the top scientists in the world, and his groundbreaking work has changed the very ways we consider our health and examine disease," he said in a statement released by the White House.
Collins, a physician-geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project, served as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health from 1993-2008.
Source: AFP
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