Hey there, it's me, Bapu.

Today on the show, we have a special guest for you.

What do you prefer to be called?

Do you go by first and what do you prefer?

Go by first name, please.

That's Dr. Francis Collins.

For just a few more days, he's the director of the National Institutes of Health.

The NIH is the main federal agency funding health-related research in the United States.

Each year, the NIH spends about $42 billion in funding for medical research at its own labs

and through grants to outside scientists.

So pretty important always, but especially now.

Research funded by the NIH has paved the way for treatments and cancer, heart disease, mental health, HIV,

rare diseases, the list is practically endless.

And of course, the NIH has played a huge role in the fight against COVID-19.

By the way, full disclosure, I have received some NIH awards and grants for my research

and I wouldn't say no to more.

Anyway, Dr. Collins has been NIH's director for 12 years.

He served under President Obama, Trump, and Biden.

That's pretty rare for a political appointee.

In fact, Collins is the longest serving presidentially appointed director of the National Institutes of Health.

But as I mentioned, he's only got a few days left in the job before he steps down on December 19th.

So it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on his career at the NIH and what comes next.

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