Busy Summer for the NIH

Nearly five months into his term, on Wednesday President Obama finally nominated a new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): famed geneticist Francis Collins.The announcement came the day after the NIH released new guidelines encouraging research based on human embryonic stem cells.Both announcements are critically important, especially given our growing dependence on the government for research support. The NIH is one of the world's largest scientific funding agencies, and its director is responsible for managing 27 institutes, 18,000 employees and a $31 billion annual budget. The agency also oversees the 10-year, $800 million 'strategic plan' for autism research.Read more at...SFARI, July 2009.