UT Southwestern pharmacologist named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

James J. Collins III, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology, leads research into the parasitic disease schistosomiasis, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the globe. (Photo courtesy of TAMEST)

DALLAS – July 23, 2024 – James J. Collins III, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center who leads groundbreaking research into the parasitic disease schistosomiasis, has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator.

Dr. Collins was among 26 distinguished scientists nationwide named today as new HHMI Investigators and the only one in Texas. With his appointment, UT Southwestern now has 14 HHMI Investigators, the most of any institution in Texas. Each new investigator will receive $11 million in support over a seven-year period, which is renewable pending a scientific review by HHMI, a philanthropic organization created to advance basic biomedical research and science education for the benefit of humanity.

“By unraveling the basic biological processes of the parasite responsible for schistosomiasis, a devastating infectious disease, Dr. Collins aims through the use of powerful genomic approaches to identify vulnerabilities that can lead to the development of new therapies for a disease that affects hundreds of millions of people globally,” said Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., President of UT Southwestern. “We are delighted that Dr. Collins has been selected for this high honor and is joining the ranks of 13 other HHMI scientists at UT Southwestern whose bold ideas and research hold great promise for future advances.”  

Schistosomes live in certain types of freshwater snails and enter an individual when skin encounters contaminated freshwater through wading, swimming, bathing, or drinking. These parasites infect people in parts of South America and Asia, but the most infections occur in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease, schistosomiasis progresses as female parasitic worms lay millions of eggs inside the host, causing debilitating inflammatory responses and scarring as eggs get trapped in the liver, intestines, or even the brain. After years of infection, the parasite can also damage the intestines, lungs, and bladder and cause anemia, malnutrition, and learning difficulties in children.   

The Collins Lab studies schistosomes from multiple angles using a variety of modern molecular approaches. Dr. Collins was the first to set up the culture conditions to monitor the reproductive cycle of the worms without having to pass it through a host. In doing so, he has transformed the understanding of schistosomes by discovering and isolating the pheromone, or signal, that male worms use to control female sexual development and egg production. Experts think that understanding and isolating this signal provides a great new direction for the field and may bring relief to the millions of people the tropical disease affects each year in developing nations.   

“I am honored to be selected as an HHMI Investigator and grateful to my lab members, collaborators, my UT Southwestern colleagues, and Chair, David Mangelsdorf, Ph.D., for their tremendous support,” Dr. Collins said. “Schistosomiasis is a neglected disease by virtually every measure, particularly in terms of our understanding of basic schistosome biology. Thus, this generous and flexible support from HHMI will allow us to take our understanding of these parasites in new and exciting directions with the ultimate goal of developing new treatments for this terrible disease.”

Dr. Collins received his B.S. in biology from Southeast Missouri State University and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He did postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois with Phillip Newmark, Ph.D., who is also an HHMI Investigator. A Rita C. and William P. Clements, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research, Dr. Collins has received the Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease award and the 2023 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Biological Sciences from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST). He holds the Jan and Bob Bullock Distinguished Chair for Science Education and the Jane and Bud Smith Distinguished Chair in Medicine at UT Southwestern and is a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Other Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators at UT Southwestern are: 

• Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, who holds the George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science.
• Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D., Professor in Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, and the Department of Pediatrics, and Director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program at CRI, who holds the Joel B. Steinberg, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Pediatrics and is a Sowell Family Scholar in Medical Research.
• Helen Hobbs, M.D., Professor and Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Genetics, who holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Chair for the Study of Human Growth and Development, the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Chair in Developmental Biology, and the 1995 Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Cardiology Research.
• Lora Hooper, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Immunology, Professor of Microbiology and in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense, who holds the Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Immunology, and is a Nancy Cain and Jeffrey A. Marcus Scholar in Medical Research, in Honor of Dr. Bill S. Vowell.
• Youxing Jiang, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, who holds the Rosewood Corporation Chair in Biomedical Science and is a W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research.
• David Mangelsdorf, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Biochemistry, who holds the Alfred G. Gilman Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology and the Raymond and Ellen Willie Distinguished Chair in Molecular Neuropharmacology in Honor of Harold B. Crasilneck, Ph.D.
• Joshua Mendell, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology, who holds the Charles Cameron Sprague, M.D. Chair in Medical Science.
• Sean Morrison, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern and Professor of Pediatrics, who holds the Kathryne and Gene Bishop Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Research at Children’s Research Institute at UT Southwestern and the Mary McDermott Cook Chair in Pediatric Genetics.
• Kim Orth, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, who holds the Earl A. Forsythe Chair in Biomedical Science and is a W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research.
• Duojia Pan, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Physiology, who holds the Fouad A. and Val Imm Bashour Distinguished Chair in Physiology.
• Michael K. Rosen, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Biophysics, who holds the Mar Nell and F. Andrew Bell Distinguished Chair in Biochemistry.
• Vincent Tagliabracci, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, who is a Michael L. Rosenberg Scholar in Medical Research.
• Benjamin Tu, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, who holds the Martha Steiner Professorship in Medical Research and is a UT Southwestern Presidential Scholar and a W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research.

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,200 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year.