Professor James Collins
Biomedical Engineering
Professor of biomedical engineering, University Professor, and co-director of the Center for BioDynamics, Professor Collins is part of the team of scientists who created the world’s first “genetic toggle switch.” This mechanism is designed to control gene activity and has potential applications for treating a variety of diseases. For his extraordinary agility of mind and for his exceptional teaching ability, Professor Collins received the Metcalf Cup and Prize, Boston University’s most prestigious teaching award.
Professor Collins has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. Designation as HHMI investigators gives this elite group creative license to pursue novel, high risk avenues of research, with a total of more than $600 million awarded during their first 5-year term. Once established, investigators typically receive about $1 million per year.
Q. Let’s talk about what brought you into biomedical engineering in the first place.
A. Sure. I had a background originally in physics as an undergraduate and then did my graduate work in biomedical engineering. There were really two influences that brought me to biomedical engineering. One was that both of my grandfathers were physically disabled: one was blind and another had a series of strokes, which left him physically disabled. The second was a much more selfish motivation; I was a high school and college athlete. I was, however, not a very good one and wanted to be better. I thought that it might be possible to use my background in science and technology to learn about how the body works in order to gain an edge on the athletic field. I really was inspired to study how the body works.
Q. What drew you to teaching?
A. Well, interestingly in my case, I did not join the teaching faculty when I first came to the College of Engineering. I came on as a research faculty member in 1990 and after several years (in the mid-’90s), I became interested in getting into the classroom. So in 1996, I was offered an opportunity to join the teaching faculty, which I took. I’ve been thrilled with that decision. I actually really love to teach and make a big commitment to it.
Q. Tell me about the classes that you teach currently.
A. My main course, which I teach each year, is “Control Systems Theory of Biomedical Engineering.” It’s a third-year core course for biomedical engineering students. I’m also involved in the University Professors Program and teach a course in that program each year. The timing of “Control Systems Theory” in the curriculum is great. Students have just finished “Signals and Systems” and they are hungry to see how biomedical engineering can be applied to real-world problems. We have two prime foci within the course. One is to give them an incredibly strong base in the fundamentals of control system theory. Our second goal is to show them how those principles can actually apply to solve real biomedical problems. I try in each lecture to illustrate a principle that leads them to an application. I think the students really take to the material. In our undergraduate program, I think, we have some of the best, if not the best, biomedical engineering students in the country. We’ve been able to recruit superstars, and these students are highly motivated to learn the material.
Q. Are you an advisor to undergrads?
A. I am. Each professor in the program is assigned a certain number of students for whom we serve as sounding boards and advisors. I primarily serve as a research advisor to undergraduates. I welcome incoming freshmen all the way up to seniors, offering them positions during the semester and during the summer to become engaged in research products in my lab. I enjoy and value my role as a mentor and an advisor.
Q. Tell me about some of the more memorable projects you’ve worked on with students.
A. One of my seniors has been delivering small electrical currents to the ankle joints, and she has been able to show that very low levels of currents can actually enhance balance control. A few years ago, one of my students did a study where he introduced an electrical current to the inner ear to enhance balance control. He was able to show that he could actually enhance balance control in young individuals by delivering current directly to their ears. It was a very neat project.
Q. Tell me about some of the research you’re working on now.
A. We have a major program in which we’re using noise—mechanical or electrical—to develop different devices, including vibrating insoles. So these are noisy insoles that go in people’s shoes. And we’ve shown that these insoles can help improve an individual’s balance. We can reduce a 75-year-old’s sway to essentially the level of a twenty-year-old. And we are now extending these vibrating insoles to at least two patient populations. Our students are involved, and graduate students and undergraduates are working on this project.