American Chemical Society Praises Nomination of Collins as NIH Director

WASHINGTON, July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The President of the American
Chemical Society, Thomas H. Lane, Ph.D., issued the following statement today
on President Obama's nomination of Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., to be
Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH):

"At no other time in recent memory has there been such a sense of opportunity
-- and expectation -- in the power of science to deliver solutions to the
grand challenges facing our nation, and indeed, all of humanity. As the
nation's largest source of basic research funding, NIH will be looked to lead
and to deliver.

"Dr. Collins, a chemist, has made tremendous contributions to the advancement
of science, most notably in the sequencing of the human genome which holds
the promise of decoding the genetic causes of cancer and other major human
illnesses. The work and accomplishments of Dr. Collins certainly bring to life
the ACS vision of 'Improving people's lives through the transforming power of
chemistry.'

"As the world's largest scientific society, the ACS strongly supports the
Collins nomination. NIH will be well-served to have a scientist of such
caliber play a key leadership role in guiding the agency in the years ahead.
ACS wishes Dr. Collins a speedy and successful Senate confirmation and many
years of accomplished success leading NIH."

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the
U.S. Congress. With more than 154,000 members, ACS is the world's largest
scientific society and a global leader in providing access to
chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed
journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C.,
and Columbus, Ohio.

SOURCE American Chemical Society

Charmayne Marsh of American Chemical Society, +1-202-872-4445,
c_marsh@acs.org