About
Jonathan Collins is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Whitman College since 2015. Previously, he served as a visiting assistant professor at Amherst College. His research focuses on biocatalysis, particularly the development of biocatalysts for oxyfunctionalization of small molecules and green chemistry applications. He earned his B.Sc. from Allegheny College (2005) and Ph.D. from Brock University (2010), followed by postdoctoral work at Technische Universität Dortmund in Germany.
Education: B.Sc. Chemistry (Allegheny College, 2005), Ph.D. Organic Chemistry (Brock University, 2010).
Research Interests: Biocatalysts for selective oxyfunctionalization, chiral building blocks, chemoenzymatic synthesis of natural products, and sustainable chemical processes. Current projects include molybdenum cofactor-containing dehydrogenases and biphasic biotransformations using supercritical CO₂.
Lab Highlights: The Collins Lab has secured grants from The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and supported student researchers like Grace Newman (Goldwater Scholar) and Courtney Hull. Recent work includes discoveries in substrate specificity of benzoate dioxygenase and novel pancreatic cancer therapeutic agents.
Labs/Teams: Collins Lab at Whitman College, collaborating on biocatalytic innovations and undergraduate research training.
