Francis Collins is a physician-scientist. Under his direction, the Human Genome Project produced the first finished sequence of the human DNA instruction book in 2003. From 2009 to 2021, Collins served under three Presidents as the Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world. Following a year in the White House as the President’s Acting Science Advisor, he returned to NIH to oversee a research laboratory as a Distinguished Investigator in the intramural program of the National Human Genome Research Institute. He has also worked with advocates and the Congress to launch a bold initiative to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States, and to help design a Genomics Centers of Excellence (GenCoE) program in Africa. His contributions to science, medicine, and society have been recognized by the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, and the Templeton Prize. His most recent book is The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust (Little, Brown and Worthy, 2024).