Rate My Professor Catherine Collins

Dr Catherine Collins is a Pūkenga (Lecturer) in the Department of Anatomy and Associate Dean (Māori – Teaching) in the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Otago. She completed her PhD in Zoology at the University of Otago, where her research examined the historical population genetics of the New Zealand sea lion, providing key insights into phylogeographic patterns of marine mammals. Following her doctorate, Collins held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Department of Anatomy, honing her skills in ancient DNA analysis before advancing to her current lecturing position. Her career reflects a commitment to integrating genomic approaches with archaeological and anthropological questions, particularly in the context of New Zealand and Pacific populations.

In anthropological genetics, Collins utilizes ancient DNA techniques to investigate population origins, demographic changes, and biological invasions in both human and animal contexts. Her work addresses the genetics of the first New Zealanders, prehistoric translocations of commensal species such as rats, guinea pigs, dogs, and molluscs in Pacific island archaeology, and conservation genomics for taonga species. She contributes to Māori genomic research through initiatives like Ruatau, fostering connections between scientists and communities, and serves as Associate Editor for Wildlife Research. Key publications encompass 'Ancient DNA investigation of the 17 Maronite patriarchs of Qanubin' (Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2023), 'Ancient Invaders: How Paleogenetic Tools Help to Identify and Understand Biological Invasions of the Past' (Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution & Systematics, 2021), 'An isotopic and genetic study of multi-cultural colonial New Zealand' (Journal of Archaeological Science, 2021), 'DNA from mollusc shell: a valuable and underutilised substrate for genetic analyses' (PeerJ, 2020), 'Ancient DNA of Guinea Pigs (Cavia spp.) Indicates a Probable New Center of Domestication and Pathways of Global Distribution' (Scientific Reports, 2020), 'The Pacific Rat Race to Easter Island: Tracking the Prehistoric Dispersal of Rattus exulans using Ancient Mitochondrial Genomes' (Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2017), and 'Complex history of dog (Canis familiaris) origins and translocations in the Pacific revealed by ancient mitogenomes' (Scientific Reports, 2018). These contributions have illuminated pathways of domestication, migration, and invasion histories in Oceania and the Mediterranean.