Kathleen Collins

Walter and Ruth Schubert Family Chair, Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology

Full Directory Information

Research Interests

Biochemistry, biology, and biotechnology of eukaryotic retroelements and their reverse transcriptases

After 25 years of field-leading research in our studies of telomerase, endogenous RNA silencing, non-coding RNAs, and RNP biogenesis, the Collins lab transitioned to explore new uncharted realms: eukaryotic retroelements, non-LTR retrotransposon reverse transcriptases, and the use of engineered reverse transcriptases for RNA sequencing and gene therapy technologies. Funded by an NIH Director's Pioneer Award, we seek to understand the unique principles of eukaryotic non-LTR retrotransposon biochemistry and biology. We are using our insights to engineer new methods for safe, versatile, site-specific transgene addition to the human genome.

Selected Publications

McIntyre JJR, Horton CA, Collins K. Different repair pathways support intact or truncated insertions by R2 retrotransposon protein. <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41231928/> Science (2025). doi: 10.1126/science.adz3121.

Thawani A, Rodríguez-Vargas A, Van Treeck B,  Hassan NT, Adelson DL, Nogales E, Kathleen Collins K. Structures of vertebrate R2 retrotransposon complexes during target-primed reverse transcription and after second strand nicking. Science Advances 92: 103053 (2025).

Ferguson L, Upton HE, Pimentel SC, Jeans C, Ingolia NT, Collins K. Improved precision, sensitivity, and adaptability of Ordered Two-Template Relay cDNA library preparation for RNA sequencing. RNA 31: 224-244 (2025).

Thawani A, Collins K, Nogales E. Structural and biochemical studies of mobile retrotransposon proteins in action. Curr Op Struct Biol 92: 103053 (2025).

Palm SM, Van Treeck B, Collins K. Experimental considerations for precise RNA-mediated insertion of transgenes. <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39389660/> Methods Enzymol 705: 1-24 (2024). doi: 10.1016/bs.mie.2024.07.007.

Palm SM, Horton CA, Zhang X, Collins K. Structure and sequence at an RNA template 5´ end influence insertion of transgenes by an R2 retrotransposon protein. RNA (2024).

Lee RJ, Horton CA, Van Treeck B, McIntyre JJR, Collins K. Conserved and divergent DNA recognition specificities and functions of R2 retrotransposon N-terminal domains. Cell Reports (2024).

Zhang X, Van Treeck B, Horton CA, McIntyre JJR, Palm SM, Shumate JL, Collins K. Harnessing eukaryotic retroelement proteins for transgene insertion into human safe-harbor loci. Nature Biotech (2024).

Rodríguez-Vargas A, Collins K. Distinct and overlapping RNA determinants for binding and target-primed reverse transcription by Bombyx mori R2 retrotransposon protein. Nucleic Acids Research  (2024).

Thawani A, Florez Ariza AJ, Nogales E, Collins K. Template and target site recognition by human LINE-1 in retrotransposition. Nature (2024).

Photo credit: Mark Hanson of Mark Joseph Studios.

Last Updated 2024-09-24