Now that President Obama has finally made his long-awaited selection for the NIH chief, what should we expect from Dr. Francis Collins once he takes the reigns? A talented and influential scientist known best for his leadership of Human Genome project, Collins is also the founder of BioLogos, a foundation focused on highlighting the compatibility of science and religion.

Collins inherits a host of problems, not the least of which is a sticky accounting issue that was brought on by the doubling of the budget in the 90’s. That is, how do we now square the number of scientists trained by NIH fellowships with insufficient NIH grant resources for these same individuals to start their own labs? Another issue that bears consideration is how the NIH will handle stem cell research moving forward and in light of Obama’s executive order. There is much on his plate.

What items would you, the Boston science community, like to see on Dr. Collins’s to-do list? Is there any discomfort amongst the ranks about religion having some impact on the design of policy at NIH? Or could this just be a political move from Obama to tamp down the fears of the more pious members of the Washington power structure?