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Collins is an evolutionary ecologist who studies the role of host-pathogen interactions in species decline and extinction. He uses amphibians, along with viral and fungal pathogens, as models for studying factors that control population dynamics, and has been one of the foremost leaders in addressing the global amphibian extinction crisis. He also studies intellectual factors that have shaped the development of ecology as a discipline, and ecological ethics. Collins served as director of the Population Biology and Physiological Ecology program at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1985-86. 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.