James J Collins

Jim is the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science in the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science as well as Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT. Jim is widely heralded as one of the founders of the field of synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to the biological sciences in order to program novel gene circuits that can better control cellular behavior. Using this approach, Jim has pioneered innovative ways to detect and treat infections, and to study antibiotic action, bacterial defense mechanisms, and the emergence of resistance.

In addition to his role as a faculty member at MIT, Jim is a Core Faculty member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard and an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Jim is a member of all three National Academies, and has been a Rhodes Scholar, a Macarthur Fellow, and a recipient of the NIH Pioneer Award. He is a co-founder of Senti, EnBiotix, Synlogic (NASDAQ: SYBX) and Sherlock Biosciences. Dr. Collins’ patented technologies have been licensed by over 25 biotech, pharma, and medical device companies.