Stephen M. Collins FRCPC, FRSC is a Canadian physicianâÂÂscientist and gastroenterologist. He is a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, known for his research on the microbiotaâÂÂgutâÂÂbrain axis and leadership in digestive health research.
Collins was born in the United Kingdom and raised in London. He attended the London Oratory Grammar School before studying at Imperial College London and Westminster Hospital Medical School. He completed postgraduate medical training at the Universities of London and Leicester. Collins later subspecialized in gastroenterology at McMaster University in Canada and undertook research training at the Digestive Diseases Branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, United States.
Collins joined the faculty at McMaster University in 1981. In 1983, he founded and directed the Intestinal Diseases Research Unit, a role he held until 1993. He was among the first researchers in Canada to investigate the human microbiome, establishing the countryâÂÂs first axenicâÂÂgnotobiotic (germ-free) facility in 2004.
In 2008, he established the Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, dedicated to the study of microbiotaâÂÂhost interactions in health and disease.
Collins investigated the microbiotaâÂÂgutâÂÂbrain axis in chronic intestinal diseases, with a focus on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and psychiatric comorbidity.