Dr. Michael Collins

Biography

Michael Collins is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in Environmental Health Sciences. His research primarily focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which human teratogens induce congenital malformations. He employs the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, as a model system due to its well-characterized developmental gene regulatory network (GRN). Collins hypothesizes that the molecular targets of human teratogens are conserved across species, specifically within homologous signaling molecules and transcription factors crucial for early development. His work emphasizes the importance of this animal model in providing insights into the early disruptions caused by human teratogens. He has performed extensive metabolomic studies to characterize these perturbations and contribute to a deeper understanding of normal embryonic development. Collins holds a PhD and MSPH from the University of Missouri and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals related to retinoid-induced malformations and other aspects of teratology.

Research Interests