Bio
James Collins
James Collins combines expertise in engineering, physics, and biology to design and build synthetic gene networks for applications in biotechnology and medicine and to reverse engineer the endogenous gene networks in bacteria that regulate their responses to antibiotics.
At Boston University, Jim is a William F. Warren Distinguished Professor, a University Professor, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Center for BioDynamics, and Co-Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology. In 2008, he became the first Boston University faculty member to become a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.
His many awards include a MacArthur "Genius Award," a National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, and the Lagrange-CRT Foundation Prize. He has been named to the Technology Review list of top 100 young innovators and the Scientific American list of top 50 outstanding leaders in science and technology. He co-chairs the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of Gene Network Sciences, and serves on the SAB of Joule Unlimited, Novophage, LifeWave Ltd, Ensof, and Synereca Pharmaceuticals.
Encyclopædia Britannica Article
- biotechnology
The use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The growth of the field is linked to the development in the 1970s of genetic engineering. Biotechnology merges biological information with computer technology to advance research in other areas, including nanotechnology and regenerative medicine. Today there are numerous commercial biotechnology firms that manufacture genetically engineered substances for a variety of mostly medical, agricultural, and ecological uses.
- biotechnology on britannica.com
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