James P. Collins is an evolutionary ecologist whose research group studies the role of host-pathogen interactions in species decline and extinction. They use amphibians, along with viral and fungal pathogens, as models for studying factors that control population dynamics. His other research is focused on intellectual factors that have shaped the development of ecology as a discipline, and on ecological ethics.

Professor Collins's expertise in population dynamics led him to serve as director of the Population Biology and Physiological Ecology program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1986. He also served as NSF’s assistant director for Biological Sciences from 2005 to 2009. From 1989 to 2002 he was chair of ASU’s Zoology, and then Biology Department, where he used interdisciplinary programs to foster innovation in research, education, and institutional change. He is also an adjunct senior scientist with the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA.

(Source - sols.asu.edu)