Just a month after being tapped by the White House, the physician and geneticist Francis Collins was unanimously confirmed today by the US Senate as the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Collins, who headed the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute from 1993-2008, will return to the institutes’ Bethesda, Maryland, headquarters with a full plate on his hands. His first duties will include getting the NIH’s $10.4 billion stimulus windfall out the door and working on the new registry of approved human embryonic stem cells.

“Dr. Collins will be an outstanding leader,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “Today is an exciting day for NIH and for science in this country.”

Collins, though widely praised for his scientific accomplishments, which include leading the Human Genome Project and discovering many disease genes, has been criticized for his openly religious views. The author of the The Language of God, Collins recently launched the BioLogos Foundation, which aims to reconcile Christain faith and science. BioLogos officials said that the new director would step down from its leadership once confirmed. (USA Today)

A round-up of early accolades follows the jump.

Collins “understands the interplay between science and public policy,” said Robert Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, in a statement.

“[H]is vision for translating basic research into clinical applications will guide his leadership for the nation’s biomedical enterprise,” according to the Endocrine Society. (Medical News)

“Collins understands the research-to-health continuum. He enables collaboration, partnerships and innovation to create the new systems we need in the genomic era,” said Sharon Terry, president and chief executive officer of Genetic Alliance. (Ascribe)