Skip to main content

NIH Director's Blog

Recent Posts

Cool Videos

Section of a mouse globus pallidux externa

The Amazing Brain: Zooming Through the Globus Pallidus Externa

The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative continues to find new ways to visualize neurons interconnecting into the billions of circuits that control our thoughts, feelings, and movements. This video, another winner in the initiative’s “Show Us Your Brain!” contest, offers a beautiful example of how these imaging techniques are getting better all the time.

Snapshots of Life

A composite image of neurostimulation

The Amazing Brain: Deep Brain Stimulation

August is here, and many folks have plans to enjoy a well-deserved vacation this month. I thought you might enjoy taking a closer look during August at the wonder and beauty of the brain here on my blog, even while giving your own brains a rest from some of the usual work and deadlines.

News

Francis Collins Volunteering in Nigeria

Study in Africa Yields New Diabetes Gene

When I volunteered to serve as a physician at a hospital in rural Nigeria more than 25 years ago, I expected to treat a lot of folks with infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. And that certainly happened. But what I didn’t expect was how many people needed care for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the health problems it causes. Yet these individuals were generally not overweight, and the course of their illness seemed different than in the West.

Director’s Album

Photos

Camp Fantastic 2019

Camp Fantastic 2019

Photos

Annual Retreat of NIH’s Graduate Partnerships Program

Annual Retreat of NIH’s Graduate Partnerships Program

Photos

Congressional Cancer Survivors Causus

Meeting with Congressional Cancer Survivors Caucus

About the NIH Director

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.

Appointed the 16th Director of NIH by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate. He was sworn in on August 17, 2009. On June 6, 2017. President Donald Trump announced his selection of Dr. Collins to continue to serve as the NIH Director.

More about Dr. Collins

Blog Info

Editor

Kendall Morgan, Ph.D.

Comments and Questions

If you have comments or questions not related to the current discussions, please direct them to Ask NIH.

You are encouraged to share your thoughts and ideas. Please review the NIH Comments Policy

National Institutes of Health Turning Discovery Into Health