News Release

Wyss Institute Core Faculty member elected to the National Academy of Sciences

James Collins honored for his achievements in original research

Grant and Award Announcement

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard

James Collins, Ph.D, Wyss Institute

image: This is James Collins, Ph.D, Wyss Institute Core Faculty member. view more 

Credit: Harvard's Wyss Institute

BOSTON, April 30, 2014 -- Wyss Institute Core Faculty member, James Collins, Ph.D., has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which is one of the highest honors in science and technology.

The NAS is an organization with approximately 2,600 members and foreign associates that recognizes individuals for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Its members are charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. Collins joins 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected this year.

"It's an enormous honor to be inducted as a member in this illustrious organization of our nation's leading scientists," says Collins.

Collins helped to found the burgeoning field of Synthetic Biology, and has made seminal discoveries regarding the actions of antibiotics and the emergence of resistance. He holds the William F. Warren Distinguished Professorship at Boston University, where he is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator as well as the co-director and co-founder of the Center for BioDynamics. Collins also leads the Anticipatory Medical & Cellular Devices Platform at the Wyss Institute, which builds medical and biomolecular devices designed to sense the breakdown of natural body rhythms, restore lost functions, and intervene automatically before life-threatening events occur.

"It's thrilling to see Jim's pioneering work acknowledged by the National Academy of Sciences," says Wyss Institute Founding Director Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. "The Wyss community is proud of his many contributions to science and technology, and very happy that he is receiving this well earned recognition from his peers."

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PRESS CONTACT

Mary Tolikas
Mary.Tolikas@wyss.harvard.edu

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About the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University uses Nature's design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Working as an alliance among all of Harvard's Schools, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Institute crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers to engage in high-risk research that leads to transformative technological breakthroughs. By emulating Nature's principles for self-organizing and self-regulating, Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and new start-ups.


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