Head of Federal Gene Research Agency Resigns
James D. Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize for first describing the structure of the human gene molecule, resigned Friday as director of the National Center for Human Genome Research.
The resignation follows a review of Watson’s investment portfolio and a statement from the Health and Human Services Department that there were questions about the scientist’s holdings.
In his letter of resignation, which was effective immediately, Watson said he “considered it a great pleasure and opportunity to have served.”
The center said in a statement that Watson presented his letter to Dr. Bernadine P. Healy, director of the National Institutes of Health, and recommended that “a scientist of the highest reputation and integrity be appointed as soon as possible to succeed him.”
Healy announced that Dr. Michael M. Gottesman would serve as acting head of the federal gene research agency while the search is conducted for a permanent replacement. Gottesman is chief of the laboratory of cell biology at the National Cancer Institute.
The NIH director described Watson as a “historic figure in the annals of molecular biology.”
“We have been fortunate to have had his expertise and scientific judgment, which have been invaluable” to the gene project, Healy said. “We wish Dr. Watson well and thank him for his service.”
Earlier this week, an NIH spokeswoman said Healy had asked an HHS ethics officer to review Watson’s financial disclosure form, a report required of high government officials. She said Healy was concerned about investments Watson had made in biotechnology companies.
Watson was named as the first director of the gene research agency in 1989. It was created to coordinate federal efforts to map and sequence all of the genes that control inherited human characteristics. The project is expected to take years and cost billions of dollars.
He shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 with Francis Crick for discovering the double helix shape of the deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, molecule that contains the human genes. The human genome is the entire genetic structure.
