Geneticist Francis Collins was confirmed by the US Senate this afternoon (7th August) as the next director of the National Institutes of Health, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told The Scientist.

Collins's confirmation proceeded via unanimous consent, without the need for a hearing in the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions or a roll-call vote on the Senate floor.

"Dr. Collins will be an outstanding leader," said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, announcing Collins's confirmation. "Today is an exciting day for NIH and for science in this country," she said, according to the Ad Hoc News wire service.


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