1993年,美國國立衛生研究院院長Bernadine Healy任命柯林斯接替詹姆斯·杜威·沃森(James D. Watson)擔任國家人類基因組研究中心主管,該中心於1997年成為国家人类基因组研究所(NHGRI)。作為主管,他監督了國際人類基因組測序協會(the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium)[2],該組織成功開展了人类基因组计划[3]。
在2000年6月,柯林斯與總統比爾·克林頓和生物學家克萊格·凡特(Craig Venter)一起宣布了人類基因組的工作草案(a working draft of the human genome)[4]。他說:“對我來說,這是令人感到謙卑的,並且令人感到敬畏,意識到我們已經看到了我們自己的指導書的第一眼,以前只有上帝才知道。” [5][6][7]。一個初步分析被發表於2001年2月,科學家們正努力在2003年完成人類基因組序列的參考版本,恰逢詹姆斯·沃森(James D. Watson)和弗朗西斯·克里克(Francis Crick)發表DNA結構50週年。
^Simon, Stephanie. Faithful to God, Science. Los Angeles Times. [May 3, 2014]. (原始内容存档于2014-05-03). "It is humbling for me, and awe-inspiring," he said, standing at Clinton's side, "to realize that we have caught the first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God." That moment moved Collins -- who is married and has two grown daughters — to talk more publicly about his faith and to write the book. "It's been a bit like taking a public bath," he said.
^Lennox, John C. God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?. Lion Books. 2009: 176. ISBN 9780745953717. At the public announcement of the completion of the Human Genome Project, its director, Francis Collins, said: 'It is humbling for me and awe-inspiring to realize that we have caught the first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God.'