Question 1

True or false: Collins served as Director of the National Institutes of Health under three U.S. presidents.

Accepted Answer

True. Appointed by Obama in 2009, he continued under Trump and Biden, serving until 2021—the longest tenure of any NIH director.

Question 2

True or false: Collins wrote a bestselling book titled 'The Language of God.'

Accepted Answer

True. His 2006 book argues for the compatibility of science and faith, becoming a New York Times bestseller and sparking widespread debate.

Question 3

True or false: Collins retired from NIH to become a full-time pastor at a megachurch.

Accepted Answer

False. After leaving NIH in 2021, Collins returned to research and writing, focusing on BioLogos, a nonprofit he founded to bridge science and faith.

Question 4

True or false: Collins was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003.

Accepted Answer

False. Despite major contributions, Collins has never won a Nobel Prize. He received the National Medal of Science in 2007 instead.

Question 5

True or false: Francis Collins is an evangelical Christian who led the Human Genome Project.

Accepted Answer

True. Collins, a devout Christian, directed the Human Genome Project from 1993 to 2008, surprising many who assume scientists must be atheists.

Question 6

True or false: Collins is a trained concert pianist who once considered a music career.

Accepted Answer

True. He briefly studied piano at Juilliard before switching to chemistry at Yale, later saying music taught him pattern recognition key for genetics.

Question 7

True or false: Collins publicly opposed the use of CRISPR gene-editing technology in any form.

Accepted Answer

False. Collins supported CRISPR for somatic cell therapy but warned against germline editing, calling for strict ethical guidelines, not a total ban.

Question 8

True or false: Collins discovered the cystic fibrosis gene entirely on his own in a single lab.

Accepted Answer

False. While Collins co-discovered the CF gene in 1989 using a novel method, it was a collaborative effort with Lap-Chee Tsui and Jack Riordan.

Francis Collins Trivia Questions