Researcher

James Collins

Profile

James Collins is the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science at MIT and a co-founder of the field of synthetic biology. His landmark 2000 Nature paper describing the first synthetic genetic toggle switch established the conceptual framework for engineering biological circuits. Collins has since pioneered synthetic biology applications in diagnostics, antibiotic discovery, and cellular therapeutics. His laboratory developed SHERLOCK (Specific High-sensitivity Enzymatic Reporter unLOCKing), a CRISPR-Cas13-based nucleic acid detection platform, and contributed foundational work on antibiotic tolerance and persister cell biology. Collins co-founded multiple companies including Synlogic (programming bacteria as living medicines), Cellarity, and Sherlock Biosciences. His lab is a leading institutional buyer of laboratory automation equipment, DNA synthesis platforms, next-generation sequencing systems, and high-content microscopy instruments. With over 450 publications and 25 patents, Collins has received the MacArthur Fellowship ('Genius Grant'), the Lagrange Prize, and election to the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Medicine — one of only a handful of researchers elected to all three.

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