Chris Collins

Chris Collins is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Biology & Biotechnology department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He holds a B.S. in Biology from Houghton College (2002), an M.S. in Immunology and Infectious Disease from Albany Medical College (2006), and a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from SUNY Albany & NY State Museum (2011). His teaching emphasizes project-based and service learning approaches, focusing on biodiversity, ecology, anatomy, and physiology. Students engage in community projects like river water quality analysis and biodiversity surveys, as well as designing experiments using instrumentation to study biological systems.

Research interests include tick-borne diseases, disease ecology, and the impact of human activity on disease vectors like mice, ticks, and mosquitoes. He also develops passive wildlife monitoring techniques involving motion-activated cameras, tracking, and environmental DNA analysis. Collins prioritizes hands-on learning, believing students' best learn through active exploration and community engagement.