World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
James J. Collins

James J. Collins

Award Badge
Best Scientists
2025
Award Badge
Biology and Biochemistry
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Best Scientists

D-Index
179
Citations
137827
World Ranking
626
National Ranking
391

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
162
Citations
125268
World Ranking
111
National Ranking
85

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Best Scientists Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in United States Leader Award
  • 2020 - Max Delbruck Prize, Division of Biological Physics of the American Physical Society For pioneering contributions at the interface of physics and biology, in particular the establishment of the field of synthetic biology and applications of statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics in biology and medicine.
  • 2014 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2012 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 2012 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
  • 2012 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors
  • 2011 - Member of the National Academy of Engineering For contributions to synthetic biology and engineered gene networks.
  • 2007 - National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award
  • 2003 - Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation
  • 2000 - Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE)

Overview

James J. Collins is affiliated with MIT in the United States and has an extensive research portfolio spanning biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and biomedical engineering. Their primary field of study is Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, with 151 related publications. Subfields include Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Infectious Diseases, Computational Theory and Mathematics, and Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health.

  • CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
  • Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
  • RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
  • Biosensors and Analytical Detection
  • Computational Drug Discovery Methods
  • SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
  • Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria

Recent notable papers authored by or involving James J. Collins include:

  • "A Deep Learning Approach to Antibiotic Discovery" (2020), published in Cell
  • "CRISPR-based diagnostics" (2021), published in Nature Biomedical Engineering
  • "End-to-end design of wearable sensors" (2022), published in Nature Reviews Materials
  • "Wearable materials with embedded synthetic biology sensors for biomolecule detection" (2021), published in Nature Biotechnology
  • "Cell-free biosensors for rapid detection of water contaminants" (2020), published in Nature Biotechnology

Their work has appeared frequently in publication venues such as bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Nature Communications, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Cell.

  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory): 12 publications
  • Nature Communications: 9 publications
  • Nature Biomedical Engineering: 6 publications
  • Science: 5 publications
  • Cell: 3 publications

James J. Collins has collaborated consistently with several coauthors, including:

  • Felix Wong (15 joint publications)
  • Helena de Puig (11 joint publications)
  • Peter Q. Nguyen (9 joint publications)
  • Jonathan Stokes (8 joint publications)
  • Nina M. Donghia (8 joint publications)

The scientist has been recognized with multiple awards over the course of their career. Notable distinctions include the Max Delbruck Prize from the Division of Biological Physics of the American Physical Society in 2020 for contributions bridging physics and biology, membership in the National Academy of Sciences (2014), and fellowships or memberships in prestigious organizations such as the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, and the MacArthur Foundation.

  • Max Delbruck Prize, Division of Biological Physics of the American Physical Society (2020)
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2014)
  • Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (2012)
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2012)
  • Member of the National Academy of Medicine (2012)
  • Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2011)
  • National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award (2007)
  • Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation (2003)
  • Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (2000)

James J. Collins's contributions focus on synthetic biology, engineered gene networks, biosensors, diagnostics, antibiotic discovery, and wearables integrated with synthetic biology sensors. This multidisciplinary approach intersects computation, biology, engineering, and health sciences.

Best Publications

  • Construction of a genetic toggle switch in Escherichia coli

    Timothy S. Gardner;Charles R. Cantor;James J. Collins

  • A Common Mechanism of Cellular Death Induced by Bactericidal Antibiotics

    Michael A. Kohanski;Daniel J. Dwyer;Boris Hayete;Carolyn A. Lawrence

  • Highly efficient reprogramming to pluripotency and directed differentiation of human cells with synthetic modified mRNA

    Luigi Warren;Philip D. Manos;Philip D. Manos;Tim Ahfeldt;Tim Ahfeldt;Yuin-Han Loh

  • Nucleic acid detection with CRISPR-Cas13a/C2c2

    Jonathan S. Gootenberg;Omar O. Abudayyeh;Jeong Wook Lee;Patrick Essletzbichler

  • Stochasticity in gene expression: from theories to phenotypes

    Mads Kærn;Timothy C. Elston;William J. Blake;James J. Collins

  • How antibiotics kill bacteria: from targets to networks

    Michael A. Kohanski;Daniel J. Dwyer;James J. Collins;James J. Collins;James J. Collins

  • A Deep Learning Approach to Antibiotic Discovery

    Jonathan M. Stokes;Kevin Yang;Kyle Swanson;Wengong Jin

  • Multiplexed and portable nucleic acid detection platform with Cas13, Cas12a, and Csm6

    Jonathan S. Gootenberg;Omar O. Abudayyeh;Max J. Kellner;Julia Joung

  • The Immunological Genome Project: networks of gene expression in immune cells

    Tracy S P Heng;Michio W Painter;Kutlu Elpek;Veronika Lukacs-Kornek

  • Noise in eukaryotic gene expression

    William J. Blake;Mads KÆrn;Charles R. Cantor;J. J. Collins

  • Large-scale mapping and validation of Escherichia coli transcriptional regulation from a compendium of expression profiles.

    Jeremiah J Faith;Boris Hayete;Joshua T Thaden;Ilaria Mogno;Ilaria Mogno

  • Wisdom of crowds for robust gene network inference

    Daniel Marbach;James C Costello;Robert Küffner;Nicole M Vega

  • Highly efficient Cas9-mediated transcriptional programming

    Alejandro Chavez;Jonathan Scheiman;Suhani Vora;Benjamin W Pruitt

  • Synthetic biology: applications come of age.

    Ahmad S. Khalil;James J. Collins;James J. Collins

  • Open-loop and closed-loop control of posture: A random-walk analysis of center-of-pressure trajectories

    J. J. Collins;C. J. De Luca

  • Rapid, Low-Cost Detection of Zika Virus Using Programmable Biomolecular Components

    Keith Pardee;Alexander A. Green;Melissa K. Takahashi;Dana Braff;Dana Braff;Dana Braff

  • INFERRING GENETIC NETWORKS AND IDENTIFYING COMPOUND MODE OF ACTION VIA EXPRESSION PROFILING

    Timothy S. Gardner;Diego di Bernardo;David Lorenz;James J. Collins

  • Cellular decision making and biological noise: from microbes to mammals.

    Gábor Balázsi;Alexander van Oudenaarden;James J. Collins;James J. Collins

  • Sublethal Antibiotic Treatment Leads to Multidrug Resistance via Radical-Induced Mutagenesis

    Michael A. Kohanski;Mark A. DePristo;James J. Collins

  • Highly efficient Cas9-mediated transcriptional programming

    Alejandro Chavez;Jonathan Scheiman;Marcelle Tuttle;Shuailiang Lin

Frequent Co-Authors

George M. Church
George M. Church Harvard University
George Q. Daley
George Q. Daley Boston Children's Hospital
Hu Li
Hu Li Mayo Clinic
Lewis A. Lipsitz
Lewis A. Lipsitz Harvard Medical School
Phillip A. Newmark
Phillip A. Newmark University of Wisconsin–Madison
Pamela A. Silver
Pamela A. Silver Harvard University
Jeff Hasty
Jeff Hasty University of California, San Diego
Charles R. Cantor
Charles R. Cantor Boston University
Alexander A. Green
Alexander A. Green Boston University

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