Dr. Collins received a bachelor's degree in Physics (summa cum laude; class valedictorian) from the College of the Holy Cross in 1987 and a doctorate in Medical Engineering from the University of Oxford in 1990. From 1987 to 1990, he was a Rhodes Scholar. Since 1990, he has been a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. Currently, Dr. Collins is a William F. Warren Distinguished Professor, a University Professor, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and Co-Director of the Center for BioDynamics at Boston University. He is also a core founding faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Collins' scientific accomplishments have been recognized by numerous awards. For example, in 1999, he was selected for Technology Review's inaugural TR100 – 100 young innovators who will shape the future of technology.

In 2003, Dr. Collins received a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award," becoming the first bioengineer to receive this honor. Dr. Collins award citation noted, "Throughout his research, James Collins demonstrates a proclivity for identifying abstract principles that underlie complex biological phenomena and for using these concepts to solve concrete, practical problems." In 2005, Dr. Collins was selected for the Scientific American 50 – the top 50 outstanding leaders in science and technology. In 2007, he received the NIH Director's Pioneer Award and the Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award in Aging. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. In 2008, Dr. Collins was selected as an HHMI Investigator, becoming the first BU faculty member to be honored with this distinction.

In 2009, Dr. Collins was selected as the recipient of the inaugural Anthony J. Drexel $100,000 Exceptional Achievement Award. He is also a gifted and committed teacher. Dr. Collins has won numerous teaching awards at Boston University, including the Biomedical Engineering Teacher of the Year Award, the College of Engineering Professor of the Year Award, and the Metcalf Cup and Prize for Excellence in Teaching, which is the highest teaching honor awarded by Boston University. He has been involved with a number of start-up companies, and his inventions and technologies have been licensed by several biotech and medical device companies. Dr. Collins currently co-chairs the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of Gene Network Sciences, and serves on the SAB of Epitome Biosystems and Joule Biotechnologies. Additionally, he has served on the SAB of Mannkind Corporation, Codon Devices, and Bios Group Inc.

In his work, Dr. Collins has pioneered the development and use of nonlinear dynamical approaches to study, mimic and improve biological function. His specific research interests include:

• Systems biology – reverse engineering naturally occurring gene regulatory networks.
• Synthetic biology – modeling, designing, and constructing synthetic gene networks.
• Developing noise-based sensory prosthetics.