Nature聚焦NIH新任掌门人

　　

生物通报道，NIH新任院长候选人Francis Collins经白宫提名后备受瞩目，当然，科学界有赞誉也有批判之声。近日，Nature就发表了一篇文章，从众多科学家的眼中来了解这位新任掌门候选人。

 

NIH前任院长之一Harold Varmus（任期为1993-1999年，现任Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer center首席执行长官）发表看法：Francis Collins是一位极端认真的科学家，有激情的领导者，有才华的管理层，并且擅于政治。Harold Varmus认为，Francis Collins一定能胜任NIH院长一职。

 

但是，有人提出不同的声音，他们认为Francis Collins太过关注基因组学研究导致轻视其他有利人类的研究项目。华盛顿国立乳腺癌研究中心的主任Fran Visco表示，Francis Collins在2008年以前担任NIH旗下的人类基因组研究所所长长达15年之久，他在人类基因组计划上做了诸多贡献，也是首个发现纤维囊泡症致病基因的科学家之一。尽管基因组十分重要，但并不代表一切，它也只是众多需要研究的课题之一。Fran Visco认为基因组测序只是个人类了解自己的工具，并不是最重要的课题。他曾呼吁NIH立项研究环境因素与乳腺癌发病率的课题。

 

除了科学研究方面的担忧外，外界还担心Francis Collins的基督信仰可能会对NIH制定某些科研计划造成影响。Francis Collins是个坚定的有神论者，他曾在2006年出一本基督信仰的书，《The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief》。

 

哈佛大学心理学家Steven Pinker表示对白宫任命Collins表示严重的担忧，他认为Collins的有神论可能会影响他处理NIH的事务。

 

与Collins共事多年的科学家普林斯顿大学校长发育生物学家Shirley Tilghman表示，这么多年来，我从未看到宗教信仰与Collins的科研起冲突。

 

众说纷纭，我们静待最终结果。

（生物通 小茜）

More Details

NIH nominee draws scrutiny

 

The NIH is a behemoth that now has 27 institutes and centres and about 18,000 employees — much larger than the more focused NHGRI. "A big challenge for him is going to be to shift into a new role from his old role," says Elias Zerhouni, who left the NIH director's job last October. "You can't just dictate what you think is right. You have to listen a lot more."

 

White House rules prevent Collins from speaking to journalists before his nomination is considered by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts). Kennedy has called the choice of Collins "inspired", and said he would work to see that the nomination is approved "without delay".

 

The NIH is a behemoth that now has 27 institutes and centres and about 18,000 employees — much larger than the more focused NHGRI. "A big challenge for him is going to be to shift into a new role from his old role," says Elias Zerhouni, who left the NIH director's job last October. "You can't just dictate what you think is right. You have to listen a lot more."

 

White House rules prevent Collins from speaking to journalists before his nomination is considered by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts). Kennedy has called the choice of Collins "inspired", and said he would work to see that the nomination is approved "without delay".