Collins elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
May 21, 2020
Sustainability scientist James Collins, the Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment in the School of Life Sciences, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, along with Cheshire Calhoun, faculty head and professor of philosophy in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies.
Collins, an evolutionary ecologist, was chosen for his studies of the role of host-pathogen interactions in species decline and extinction. Collins uses amphibians, along with viral and fungal pathogens, as models for studying the factors that control population dynamics and has been one of the foremost leaders in addressing the global amphibian extinction crisis. He also studies the scientific, ethical and public policy issues surrounding the development and proposed environmental release of genetically modified organisms.