Education and Training

Ph.D.: University of Leicester, Cardiovascular Sciences
Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Calcium Signaling in the Heart

Research Interests

Dr. Collins' research has thus far focused on the study of Ca²⁺ regulation at the level of the cardiomyocyte and the impact of cardiovascular disease, such as hypertrophy and ischemia/reperfusion injury, and altered circadian rhythms, on store-dependent and store-independent Ca²⁺ regulation.

The Collins lab is focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms that contribute to sex differences in cardiovascular physiology and the increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events in vulnerable female populations.

Current interests include:

• Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to pregnancy-induced cardiac growth and its reversal.
• Pathophysiological and etiological mechanisms of peripartum cardiomyopathy.
• Sex-dependent regulation of cardiac metabolism and its impact on post-infarction remodeling.

Featured Publications

For a complete list of publications, go to Dr. Collin's bibliography at My NCBI

• Fulghum K, Collins HE, Jones SP, Hill BG. Influence of biological sex and exercise on murine cardiac metabolism. J Sport Health Sci. 2022 Jun 7:S2095-2546(22)00059-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2022.06.001. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35688382.
• Fulghum KL, Smith JB, Chariker J, Garrett LF, Brittian KR, Lorkiewicz P, McNally LA, Uchida S, Jones SP, Hill BG, Collins HE. Metabolic Signatures of Pregnancy-Induced Cardiac Growth. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2022 May 27. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00105.2022. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35622533.
• Collins HE, Zhang D, Chatham JC. STIM and Orai Mediated Regulation of Calcium Signaling in Age-Related Diseases. Frontiers in Aging 2022 April; 19.
• Collins HE, Anderson JC, Wende AR, Chatham JC. Cardiomyocyte stromal interaction molecule 1 is a key regulator of Ca²⁺-dependent kinase and phosphatase activity in the mouse heart. Physiol Rep. 2022 Feb;10(4):e15177. doi: 10.14814/phy2.15177. PMID: 35179826; PMCID: PMC8855923.
• Zou L, Collins HE, Young ME, Zhang J, Wende AR, Darley-Usmar VM, Chatham JC. The Identification of a Novel Calcium-Dependent Link Between NAD⁺ and Glucose Deprivation-Induced Increases in Protein O-GlcNAcylation and ER Stress. Front Mol Biosci. 2021 Dec 7;8:780865. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.780865. PMID: 34950703; PMCID: PMC8691773.
• Collins HE, Kane MS, Litovsky SH, Darley-Usmar VM, Young ME, Chatham JC, Zhang J. Mitochondrial Morphology and Mitophagy in Heart Disease: Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses Using Transmission Electron Microscopy. Frontiers in Aging. 2021 May; 2. NIHMSID: NIHMS1797849.
• Wright JN, Benavides GA, Johnson MS, Wani W, Ouyang X, Zou L, Collins HE, Zhang J, Darley-Usmar V, Chatham JC. Acute increases in O-GlcNAc indirectly impair mitochondrial bioenergetics through dysregulation of LonP1-mediated mitochondrial protein complex turnover. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2019 Jun 1;316(6):C862-C875. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00491.2018. Epub 2019 Mar 13. PMID: 30865517; PMCID: PMC6620580.
• Collins HE, Pat BM, Zou L, Litovsky SH, Wende AR, Young ME, Chatham JC. Novel role of the ER/SR Ca²⁺ sensor STIM1 in the regulation of cardiac metabolism. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019 May 1;316(5):H1014-H1026. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00544.2018. Epub 2018 Dec 21. PMID: 30575437; PMCID: PMC6580390.
• Brewer RA, Collins HE, Berry RD, Brahma MK, Tirado BA, Peliciari-Garcia RA, Stanley HL, Wende AR, Taegtmeyer H, Rajasekaran NS, Darley-Usmar V, Zhang J, Frank SJ, Chatham JC, Young ME. Temporal partitioning of adaptive responses of the murine heart to fasting. Life Sci. 2018 Mar 15;197:30-39. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2018.01.031. Epub 2018 Feb 1. PMID: 29410090; PMCID: PMC5837814.
• Wright JN, Collins HE, Wende AR, Chatham JC. O-GlcNAcylation and cardiovascular disease. Biochem Soc Trans. 2017 Apr 15;45(2):545-553. doi: 10.1042/BST20160164. PMID: 28408494; PMCID: PMC5640322.