}}</ref> Venter was fired by Celera in early 2002 after it became clear that selling genome data would not become profitable and Venter resisted efforts by the company board to change the strategic direction of the company.
Despite their differing motivations, Venter and rival scientiestscientist [[Francis Collins]] of the [[National Institute of Health]] jointly made the announcement of the mapping of the human genome in 2000, along with [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="blueprint">Jamie Shreeve, "[http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31genome.htm The Blueprint of Life]," ''[[U.S. News and World Report]]'', 10/31/05, URL accessed 30 January 2007.</ref> Venter and Collins thus shared an award for "Biography of the Year" from [[A&E Network]].<ref name="montgomery">"[http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mc/news/press/00-463.html Montgomery County, Maryland, Press Releases]," December 19, 2000, URL accessed 30 January 2007.</ref>
