Hunter Collins, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Baton Rouge, La, Us

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

• Oversees research program for the Department of Pediatrics at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital (OLOLCH) while also supporting the nursing, trauma, and pharmacy programs.• Manages regulatory and logistical aspects of clinical trials, academic research, and quality improvement projects that take place at OLOLCH. This includes designing studies, developing protocols, and submitting to Institutional Review Boards (IRB) for study approval.• Performs statistical analysis of data associated with research projects.• Writes and applies for grants to fund research projects across the hospital system and has secured funding for multiple projects focused on improving patient care and access to health-care resource.• Writes and edits manuscripts for publication in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals.• Attends national and international conferences to present research through posters and oral presentations.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

• Oversees research program for the Department of Psychiatry at LSUHSC New Orleans in partnership with Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge, LA.• Manages regulatory and logistical aspects of clinical trials, academic research, and quality improvement projects that take place with LSUHSC Psychiatry. This includes designing studies, developing protocols, and submitting to Institutional Review Boards (IRB) for study approval.• Instructor of the Research Methods and QI curriculum as well as Journal Club leader.• Performs statistical analysis of data associated with research projects.• Writes and applies for grants to fund research projects across the hospital system.• Writes and edits manuscripts for publication in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals.• Attends national and international conferences to present research through posters and oral presentations.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

• Design studies to advance leprosy research using pioneering molecular biology techniques. Develop and optimize protocols for detecting and diagnosing Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis in animal and human tissue using qPCR, immunohistochemistry, in-situ hybridization, and microscopic techniques. • Direct involvement in training clinicians and scientists on how to use groundbreaking molecular techniques to detect and measure Mycobacterium leprae viability in infected tissues. • Routinely perform qPCR for diagnosing M. leprae and M. lepromatosis in patient samples in a CLIA certified clinic. Maintain clinical molecular diagnostic laboratory per Joint Commission and CLIA standards using strict quality control procedures. Troubleshoot issues and routinely validate current molecular diagnostic laboratory protocols and standard operating procedures per Joint Commission and CLIA requirements.• Coordinate with current investigators in overseeing the care of research animals involved in vaccine and drug therapy experiments. This includes routine health checks of various strains of mice and armadillos used for numerous research projects.

Louisiana Tech University -- Ruston, La

• Collaborated with course instructors to optimize existing labs to better integrate with the main lecture material. Courses taught include BISC 131 and 133 (Principles of Biology I & II), BISC 260 (Microbiology), and BISC 313 (Ecology).• Designed protocols for new labs to be taught in BISC 260 (Microbiology) and BISC 313 (Ecology). Examples include: • Performing a cloning project that includes PCR, restriction digests of plasmids, gel electrophoresis, bacterial transformation, and plasmid purification • Identifying an unknown bacteria using ERIC PCR alongside standard biochemical tests• Recruited as the co-instructor of record for the main lecture and lab section of BISC 313 (Ecology) during the fall quarter of 2015.

Louisiana Tech University -- Ruston, La

Project Title: Microbial Ecology of Bacterial and Protozoal Pathogens in Sus scrofa and Odocoileus virginanus in the Jackson-Bienville Wildlife Management Area•Demonstrated that feral hogs are significant reservoirs for five specific pathogens and can spread these pathogens indirectly to other wildlife through environmental water sources. •Delivered solutions-oriented results by developing a simple and cost-effective protocol to detect bacterial and protozoal pathogens in environmental water sources.•Demonstrated, for the first time, that feral hog wallows are a significant aquatic reservoir for five pathogens known to be carried by feral hogs. These include Leptospira interrogans, Brucella spp., Salmonella enterica, Giardia lamblia, and Cryptosporidium parvum. •Coordinated research efforts between the principle investigator of the lab as well as state and federal scientists through effective communication and proficient data management. Project Title: Identifying Stress Responses to Novel Antifungal Therapy in Candida albicansStudied stress responses in Candida albicans to identify antifungal combinations that decrease C. albicans growth using concentrations that would reduce drug resistance and lower host toxicity.Project Highlights:•Discovered multiple, novel combinations of antifungals administered at sub-inhibitory concentrations that led to a synergistic reduction in C. albicans growth.•Identified a potentially undiscovered mechanism for initiating hyphae growth in C. albicans.•Lead the development of a system using halloysite clay nanotubes as a novel antifungal drug delivery system for controlling C. albicans growth. •Assisted in the design and building of a lab to meet BSL-2 standards to accommodate research being conducted. •Recruited and trained undergraduate students in PCR, primer design, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, serology, bacterial culturing, bacterial transformation, plasmid engineering, and molecular cloning.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Molecular Sciences And Nanotechnology

Activities and Societies: Sigma Xi, Omicron Delta Kappa, American Society for Microbiology, American Chemical Society, American.

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Biological Scienes

Activities and Societies: Alpha Epsilon Delta