Francis Collins

The President has recently been awarding the Medal of Freedom wisely and well. Harper Lee, Benjamin Hooks, Henry Hyde and Brian Lamb were among those honored most recently. Christianity Today reports on another:

Christian scientist Francis Collins landed on President Bush's list of President[ial] Medal of Freedom awards, according to the Associated Press. The director of the National Human Genome Research Institute is being honored with the nation's highest civilian award for his leadership and for expanding the understanding of human DNA.

Collins is known for his discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project, which mapped and sequenced human DNA and determined its functions. He converted to Christianity after reading C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity.

Francis Collins to receive highest civilian award | Liveblog | Christianity Today