Biomedical research will do just fine under the incoming Trump administration, Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health tells Scientific American's 60 Second Science podcast.
"I am confident that the convictions that are held by many Americans and by most members of the Congress, that biomedical research is one of most important investments that our government makes, will carry the day," Collins says, "and that I think that there's no reason for people to commence hand-wringing by this unexpected turn of events."
Collins visited the Scientific American and the Nature journals office earlier this week where he was asked about NIH's future in the context of the recent US election. He says that biomedical research helps improve human health while also stimulating the economy, and as such, he says biomedical research will continue to fare well.
"You can watch and see if I turn out to be wrong, but that's my position and I'm sticking to it," he says.
As for himself, Collins says that he will be, as many presidential appointees must, submitting his resignation next month, to be effective January 20. He plans, though, to continue his research lab at NIH.