James J. Collins
James Joseph Collins (born June 26, 1965) is an American biomedical engineer and bioengineer who serves as the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering & Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is also a director at the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Clinic for Machine Learning in Health.
James J. Collins | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 26, 1965 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BA) Balliol College, Oxford (DPhil) |
| Known for | Synthetic biology; discovery of halicin and abaucin |
| Spouse |
Mary McNaughton Collins
(m. 1990) |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellowship (2003) Lagrange Prize (2010) HFSP Nakasone Award (2015) Gabbay Award (2017) Dickson Prize in Medicine (2020) Max Delbruck Prize (2020) Feynman Prize (2023) Clarivate Citation Laureate (2023) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biological engineering Biomedical engineering Systems biology Synthetic biology |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard University Boston University Wyss Institute Broad Institute |
| Thesis | Joint Mechanics: Modeling of the Lower Limb (1990) |
| Doctoral advisor | John O’Connor |
Collins conducted research showing that artificial intelligence (AI) approaches can be used to discover novel antibiotics, such as halicin and abaucin. He serves as the Director of the Antibiotics-AI Project at MIT, which is supported by The Audacious Project, and is a member of the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. He is also a core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and a member of the Broad Institute.
Collins is one of the founders of the field of synthetic biology, and his work on synthetic gene circuits and programmable cells has led to the development of new classes of diagnostics and therapeutics, which have influenced research in detecting and treating infections caused by emerging pathogens such as Ebola, Zika, SARS-CoV-2, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. He is also a researcher in systems biology, having made discoveries regarding the actions of antibiotics and the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Collins is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences for his contributions to synthetic biology and engineered gene networks.