Collins completed a degree in Marine Zoology (Wales) then a PhD in Geology (Glasgow, Scottish Marine Biological Information) before NERC and Royal Society Fellowships at Glasgow and Leiden (Chemisty and Biochemistry) and postdoctoral research at Bristol (Geology). He first lectured in Geochemistry (Newcastle) before moving to York in 2003.

Collins's has been attempting to understand pathways of diageneis in archaeological bones, improve the amino acid dating techniqe and develop soft-ionization mass-spectrometric techniques to analyse ancient proteins.

Academic and professional distinctions

First Professor (Bijzonder Hoogleraar) in Biomolecular Archaeology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Honorary Professor China University of Geosciences, Member of the Treibs Committee of the Geochemical Society (Chair in 2007) , Editorial Board: Quaternary Geochronology, Former Member of the NERC Earth Science Committee, then NERC college,Member of NERC LSMSF Steering Committee, Member of AHRB college , Advisor to NSF Amino acid Geochronology Facility, Arizona. Keynote Speaker: Reuvensdagen 2006, 1st & 2nd International Symposia on Biomolecular Archaeology (Amsterdam & Stockholm), aDNA7 Brisbane. Invited speaker, PittCon Chicago; Bone Diagenesis, Madrid; Archaeomaterials, Erice, Sicily; Jerusalem. Expert witness European Pharmacopoeia. Consultant SAFEED-PAP Project.

Publications

2009

• Buckley M, Collins M, Thomas-Oates J, Wilson JC 2009. Species identification by analysis of bone collagen using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY 23(23): 3843-3854.
• Wright CC, Collins M, Brothwell D, Shafer M 2009. Bioarchaeological analysis of iodine in dental enamel: initial analysis of sheep dental enamel for elemental iodine, for the purpose of future detection of in vivo iodine deficiency in ruminants and humans. Holm of Papa Westray: Artefacts and human and faunal remains. Pp. 83-87.
• Buckley M, Whitcher Kansa S, Howard S, Campbell S, Thomas-Oates J, Collins. MJ. Distinguishing between archaeological sheep and goat bones using a single collagen peptide. Journal of Archaeological Science In Press, Corrected Proof.
• Koon, H.E.C. O'Connor, T.P. , Collins M.J. (2009) Sorting the butchered from the boiled,Journal of Archaeological Science in press
• Heaton K., Solazzo C., Collins, M.J., Thomas-Oates J, Bergström E.T.(2009) Towards the application of desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) to the analysis of ancient proteins from artefacts, Journal of Archaeological Science, 36, 2145-2154
• Collins, M. J., Penkman, K. E. H., Rohland, N., Shapiro, B., Dobberstein, R. C., Ritz-Timme, S. & Hofreiter, M. 2009 Is amino acid racemization a useful tool for screening for ancient DNA in bone? Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, - 10.1098/rspb.2009.0563ht.
• Griffin RC, Chamberlain AT, Hotz G, Penkman KE, Collins MJ. (2009) Age estimation of archaeological remains using amino acid racemization in dental enamel: A comparison of morphological, biochemical, and known ages-at-death. Am J Phys Anthropol. Apr 8;.
• Dobberstein R.C., Collins M. J., Craig O. E., Taylor G., Penkman K. E. H. and Ritz-Timme S. (2009) Archaeological collagen: Why worry about collagen diagenesis? Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences1,31-42.
• Dybowska, A., Manning D.A.C, Collins M.J., Wess T., Woodgate S. and Valsami-Jones E (2009) An evaluation of the reactivity of synthetic and natural apatites in the presence of aqueous metals. Science of The Total Environment 407, 2953-2965.
• Gary A. King, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Eske Willerslev, Matthew J. Collins, Harry Kenward (2009) Recovery of DNA from archaeological insect remains: first results, problems and potential, Journal of Archaeological Science, 36, 1179-1183.
• Rijsdijk, Kenneth F., Julian P. Hume, Frans Bunnik, F.B. Vincent Florens, Claudia Baider, Beth Shapiro, Johannes van der Plicht, et al. (2009) Mid-Holocene vertebrate bone Concentration-Lagerstätte on oceanic island Mauritius provides a window into the ecosystem of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus). Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 14-24.
• Ottoni C., Koon H., Collins M., Penkman K., Rickards O., Craig O., Preservation of ancient DNA in thermally damaged archaeological bone, Naturwissenschaften 96, 267-278
• Hardy, K., Blakeney, T., Copeland, L., Kirkham, J., Wrangham, R., and Collins, M. (2009) Starch granules, dental calculus and new perspectives on ancient diet. Journal of Archaeological Science 36, 248-255.

2008

• Koon H., Loreille O., Covington A. , Christensen A., Parsons T., Collins M. (2008) Diagnosing post-mortem treatments which inhibit DNA amplification from US MIAs buried at the Punchbowl . Forensic Science International , 178, 171 - 177.
• Collins, M., Cappellini E., Buckley., M, Penkman, K.E.H., Griffin R. C., Koon H.E. 2008 Ancient proteins: what remains to be detected? in Between Biology and Culture (Ed, H. Schutkowski) Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, CUP, Cambridge.
• Griffin, R. C., Moody, H., Penkman, K. E. H., Fagan, M. J., Curtis, N., and Collins, M. J., 2008. A New Approach to Amino Acid Racemization in Enamel: Testing of a Less Destructive Sampling Methodology. Journal of Forensic Sciences 53, 910-916.
• Covington AD, Song L, Suparno O, Koon HEC, Collins MJ (2008) Link-lock: An explanation of the chemical stabilisation of collagen Journal of the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists, 92, 1-7.
• Blyth A. J., Baker A., Collins M. J., Penkman K. E. H., Gilmour M. A., Moss J. S., Genty D., and Drysdale R. N. (2008) Molecular organic matter in speleothems and its potential as an environmental proxy. Quaternary Science Reviews 27(9-10), 905-921.
• Penkman K.E.H., Kaufman D.S., Maddy D., Collins M.J. (2008) Closed-system behaviour of the intra-crystalline fraction of amino acids in mollusc shells, Quaternary Geochronology 3 2-25.
• Buckley, M., Walker, A., Ho, S.Y., Yang, Y., Smith, C., Ashton, P., Thomas-Oates, J., Cappellini, E., Koon, H., Penkman, K., Elsworth, B., Ashford, D., Solazzo, C., Andrews, P., Strahler, J., Shapiro, B., Ostrom, P., Gandhi, H., Miller, W., Raney, B., Zylber, M.I., Gilbert, M.T., Prigodich, R.V., Ryan, M., Rijsdijk, K.F.,  Janoo, A., Collins, M.J., (2008) Comment on "Protein Sequences from Mastodon and Tyrannosaurus rex Revealed by Mass Spectrometry", Science 319 (2008) 33c.
• Buckley, M., Collins, M.J., Thomas-Oates, J., (2008) A method of isolating the collagen (I) alpha 2 chain carboxytelopeptide for species identification in bone fragments. Anal. Biochem.374, 325-334.
• Buckley, M., Anderung, C., Penkman, K., Raney, B., Gotherstrom, A., Thomas-Oates, J., Collins, M.J., (2008) Comparing the survival of osteocalcin and mtDNA in archaeological bone from four European sites. Journal of Archaeological Science. 35, 1756-1764
• Griffin, R.C., Moody, H., Penkman, K.E.H. & Collins, M.J. (2008) The application of amino acid racemization in the acid-soluble fraction of enamel to the estimation of the age of human teeth. Forensic Science International 175 11-16.

2007

• Penkman, K.E.H., Preece, R.C., Keen, D.H., Maddy, D., Schreve, D.C. & Collins, M. (2007) Amino acids from the intra-crystalline fraction of mollusc shells: Applications to geochronology. Quaternary Science Reviews, 26, 2958-2969.
• Etok S.E. , Valsami-Jones E., Wess T.J., Hiller J.C., Maxwell C.A., Rogers K.D., Manning, DAC, White, E Lopez-Capel, MJ Collins, M Buckley, Penkman KEH, Woodgate S.L. (2007) Structural and chemical changes of thermally treated bone apatite, Journal of Materials Science 42: 9807-9816
• Smith C.,Jans M., Nielsen-Marsh C. & Collins, M., (2007) Human and animal taphonomy in Europe: A physical and chemical point of view In Human and Faunal Relationships Reviewed: An Archaeozoological Approach Eduardo Corona-M. y J. Arroyo-Cabrales (Eds.) pp 71-79 BAR S1627.
• M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Lynn P. Tomsho, Snjezana Rendulic, Michael Packard, Daniela I. Drautz, Andrei Sher, Alexei Tikhonov, Love Dalén, Tatyana Kuznetsova, Pavel Kosintsev, Paula F. Campos, Thomas Higham, Matthew J. Collins, Andrew S. Wilson, Fyodor Shidlovskiy, Bernard Buigues, Per G. P. Ericson, Mietje Germonpré, Anders Götherström, Paola Iacumin, Vladimir Nikolaev, Malgosia Nowak-Kemp, Eske Willerslev, James R. Knight, Gerard P. Irzyk, Clotilde S. Perbost, Karin M. Fredrikson, Timothy T. Harkins, Sharon Sheridan, Webb Miller, and Stephan C. Schuster, 2007, Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequencing of Mitochondria from Ancient Hair Shafts, Science 317: 1927-1930
• Willerslev, E., Cappellini, E., Boomsma, W., Nielsen, R., Hebsgaard, M.B., Brand, T.B., Hofreiter, M., Bunce, M., Poinar, H.N., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S., Steffensen, J.P., Bennike, O., Schwenninger, J-L., Nathan, R., Armitage, S., de Hoog, C.-J., Alfimoc, Va., Christl, M., Beer, J., Muscheler, R., Barker, J., Sharp, M., Penkman, K.E.H., Haile, J., Taberlet, P., Gilbert, M.T.P., Casoli, A., Campani, E. & Collins, M.J. 2007. Ancient Biomolecules from Deep Ice Cores Reveal a Forested Southern Greenland. Science 317 111-114
• Smith CI, Nielsen-Marsh CM , Jans MME , & Collins MJ, 2007, Bone diagenesis in the European Holocene I: patterns and mechanisms, 2007, Journal of Archaeological Science, 34, 1485-1493
• Nielsen-Marsh C.M. , Smith C.I., Jans M.M.E., Nord A., Kars H. & Collins M.J., 2007, Bone diagenesis in the European Holocene II: taphonomic and environmental considerations Journal of Archaeological Science, 34, 1523-1531
• Penkman, K. & Collins, M. 2007. Amino Acid Racemization Analysis: Late Quaternary landscape history of the Swale - Ure Washlands. English Heritage Centre for Archaeology Report 74/2007
• Penkman, K., McGrory, S. & Collins, M. 2007. Amino Acid Racemization Analysis: Medway project. English Heritage Centre for Archaeology Report 73/2007

2006

• Holmes K. M., Robson Brown K. A., Oates W. P., and Collins M. J. (2006) Assessing the distribution of Asian Palaeolithic sites: a predictive model of collagen degradation. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(7), 971-986.
• Durrwachter C., Craig O. E., Collins M. J., Burger J., and Alt K. W. (2006) Beyond the grave: variability in Neolithic diets in Southern Germany? Journal of Archaeological Science 33(1), 39-48.
• M. T. P. Gilbert A. J. H., E. Willerslev, G. Turner-Walker, M. Collins,. (2006) Insights into the processes behind the contamination of degraded human teeth and bone samples with exogenous sources of DNA. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 16(2), 156-164.
• Collins, M.J., Cappellini, E., Buckley, M. Penkman, K.E.H., Griffin, R.C. & Koon, H.E.C. 2006. Analytical methods to detect ancient proteins. In Bio-and Material Cultures at Qumran. Edited by Jan Gunneweg, Charles Greenblatt & Annemie Adriaens, Frauenhofer IRB, Verlag, Stuttgart, 33-40

2005

• Gilbert M. T.P., Barnes I., Collins M.J., Smith C., Eklund J., Goudsmit J., Poinar H., Cooper A. 2005, News and Comments: The long-term survival of ancient DNA in Egypt: Response to Zink and Nerlich (2003). American Journal of Physical Anthropology 128 110-4.
• Parfitt S. A., Barendregt R. W., Breda M., Candy I., Collins M. J., Coope G. R., Durbidge P., Field M. H., Lee J. R., Lister A. M., Mutch R., Penkman K. E. H., Preece R. C., Rose J., Stringer C. B., Symmons R., Whittaker J. E., Wymer J. J., and Stuart A. J. (2005) The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe. Nature 438(7070), 1008-1012.
• Parker Pearson M., Chamberlain A., Craig O., Marshall P., Mulville J., Smith H., Chenery C., Collins M., Cook G., Craig G., Evans J., Hiller J., Montgomery J., Schwenninger J.-L., Taylor G., and Wess T. (2005) Evidence for mummification in Bronze Age Britain. Antiquity 79(305), 529-546
• Gilbert MTP, Rudbeck L., Willerslev E., Hansen A.J, Smith C. Penkman K., Prangenberg K, Nielsen-Marsh C, Jans M., Arthur P., Lynnerup N., Turner-Walker G., Biddle M., Kjølbye-Biddle B., Collins M., 2005 Biochemical and physical correlates of DNA contamination in archaeological human bones and teeth excavated at Matera, Italy Journal of Archaeological Science 32 785-793.
• Dürrwächter C, Collins MJ, Burger J & KW Alt (2005): Análisis de isótopos estables y análisis diagenético de los restos òseos humanos de la Peña de la Abuela y del túmolo de La Sima en el Valle de Ambrona (Soria, España). In: Guerra MAR, Kunst M, Pena FG, de Lagrán IGM, Dauchez GM (ed): Un desafio a la eternidad: Tumbas monumentales del Valle de Ambrona. Arqueologia en Castilla y León 14. Ochoa Impresores, Soria: 317-320.
• Jones, V. Collins, M., Penkman, K., Jaffé, R., Wolff, G. 2005. An assessment of the microbial contribution to aquatic dissolved organic nitrogen using amino acid enantiomeric ratios. Organic Geochemistry 36 (7) 1099-1107.
• Nielsen-Marsh C. M., Richards M. P., Hauschka P. V., Thomas-Oates J. E., Trinkaus E., Pettitt P. B., Karavanic I., Poinar H., and Collins M. J. (2005) Osteocalcin protein sequences of Neanderthals and modern primates. PNAS, 0500450102.
• Holmes K., Robson Brown K., Oates W.P. and Collins M.J., 2005, Assessing the Distribution of African Palaeolithic Sites: A Predictive Model of Collagen Degradation Journal of Archaeological Science 32, 157-166.
• Smith, C.I. Craig O.E., Prigodich R.V., Nielsen-Marsh C.M., Jans M.M.E., Vermeer C. and Collins, M.J. 2005, Diagenesis and survival of osteocalcin in archaeological bone, Journal of Archaeological Science 32, 105-113.
• Craig, O.E., Taylor, G., Mulville, J., Parker Pearson, M., Collins, M.J., 2005, The Identification of Prehistoric Dairying Activities in the Scottish Atlantic Margins: an integrated biomolecular approach. Journal of Archaeological Science 32, 91-103

2004

• Craig O. E., Chapman J., Figler A., Patay P., Taylor G., and Collins M. J., (2004) Milk jugs' and other myths of the Copper age of central Europe. European Journal of Archaeology 6,249-263.
• Jans M. M. E., Nielsen-Marsh C. M., Smith C. I., Collins M. J., and Kars H. (2004) Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone. Journal of Archaeological Science 31, 87-95.
• Hiller J. C., Collins M. J., Chamberlain A. T., and Wess T. J. (2004) Small-angle X-ray scattering: a high-throughput technique for investigating archaeological bone preservation. Journal of Archaeological Science 31, 1349-1359.
• Burger, J., Rosendahl, W., Loreille, O., Hemmer H., Eriksson, T. Gootherstrom A., Hiller, J. Collins,M. J., Wess T., Alt K. W., 2004, Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 30, 841-849.
• Collins, M. & Penkman, K. 2004, Amino Acid Racemization Analysis: Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk. English Heritage Centre for Archaeology Report 33/2004
• Collins, M. & Penkman, K. 2004, Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor: Amino Acid Racemization Analysis. English Heritage Centre for Archaeology Report 63/2004

2003

• Ritz-Timme S., Laumeier I., Collins M.J. (2003) Aspartic acid racemization: evidence for marked longevity of elastin in human skin, British Journal of Dermatology 149, 951-959.
• Xie S. C., Yi Y., Huang J. H., Hu C. Y., Cai Y. J., Collins M., and Baker A. (2003) Lipid distribution in a subtropical southern China stalagmite as a record of soil ecosystem response to paleoclimate change. Quaternary Research 60, 340-347.
• Smith C. I., Chamberlain A. T., Riley M. S., Stringer C., Collins M. (2003) The thermal history of human fossils and the likelihood of successful DNA amplification. Journal of Human Evolution 45, 203-217.
• Dürrwächter C, Craig OE, Taylor G, Collins MJ, Burger J & KW Alt (2003): Rekonstruktion der Ernährungsweise in den mittel- und frühneolithischen Bevölkerungen von Trebur/Hessen und Herxheim/Pfalz anhand der Analyse stabiler Isotope. In: Bulletin der Schweizer Gesellschaft für Anthropologie 9 (2) 1-16.
• Koon, H.E.C., Nicholson, R.A. & Collins, M.J. 2003, A practical approach to the identification of low temperature heated bone using TEM. Journal of Archaeological Sciences 30, 1393-1399.
• Aitken C.M.,van Duin A.C.T. and Collins M.J. Understanding Bioavailability of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Mechanisms and Prediction, In Bioremediation; a critical review, Head, I.M., Singleton, I. and Milner, M.G. eds
• Collins, M.J., Nielsen-Marsh, C.M., Hiller, J., Smith, C.I., Roberts, J.P., Prigodich, R.V., Wess, T.J., Csapo, J., Millard, A., Turner-Walker, G., Bone Diagenesis: implications for heritage management. ICAZ (in press)
• Ritz-Timme S., Laumeier I., and Collins M. (2003) Age estimation based on aspartic acid racemization in elastin from the yellow ligaments. International Journal of Legal Medicine 117(2), 96-101.
• Collins, M. J., D. Walton, G. B. Curry, M. S. Riley, T. N. Von Wallmenich, N. M. Savage, G. Muyzer and P. Westbroek (2003) Long-term trends in the survival of immunological epitopes entombed in fossil brachiopod skeletons. Organic Geochemistry. 34: 89–96
• Dürrwächter C, Craig OE, Taylor G, Collins MJ, Burger J & KW Alt (2003): Ernährungsrekonstruktion in neolithischen Populationen anhand der Analyse stabiler Isotope: Trebur (HST/GG) und Herxheim (späte LBK). In: Berichte der Kommission für Archäologische Landesforschung in Hessen, Band 7 (2002/2003): 41-52.

2002

• Wess, T., Alberts, I., Hiller, J., Drakopoulos, M., Chamberlain, A.T., Collins, M., (2002) Microfocus small angle X-ray scattering reveals structural features in archaeological bone samples: Detection of changes in bone mineral habit and size. Calcified Tissue International, 70(2), 103-110.
• Ritz –Timme S. ∓ Collins M.J. (2002) Racemization of aspartic acid humans in proteins, Ageing Research Reviews, 1, 43-59.
• Collins, M.J., Nielsen-Marsh, C.M., Hiller, J., Smith, C.I., Roberts, J.P., Prigodich, R.V., Wess, T.J., Csapo, J., Millard, A., Turner-Walker, G. (2002) The survival of organic matter in bone: a review. Archaeometry, 44: 383-394. [ [Web Link]
• Götherström, A., Angerbjorn, A., Collins, M.J., Lidén, K., (2002) Bone preservation and DNA amplification. Archaeometry, 44: 395-404.
• Roberts, S.J., Smith, C.I., Millard, A.R., Collins, M.J., (2002) The taphonomy of cooked bone: characterising boiling and its physico-chemical effects. Archaeometry, 44: 485-494.
• Smith, C.I., Nielsen-Marsh, C.N., Jans, M.E., Arthur, P., Nord, A.G., Collins, M.J., (2002) The Strange Case of Apigliano: Early 'Fossilisation' of Bone from a Mediaeval Site in Southern Italy. Archaeometry, 44: 405-416.
• Craig O.E. ∓ Collins M.J. (2002) The Removal of Protein from Mineral Surfaces: Implications for Residue Analysis of Archaeological Materials, Journal of Archaeological Science, 29: 1077-1082.
• Nielsen-Marsh, C.N, Ostrom, P.Gandh, H. Hauschka P.V. ∓ Collins M.J., (2002) Exceptional preservation of bison bones older than 55 ka as demonstrated by protein and DNA sequences Geology, 30: 1099–1102
• Turner-Walker, G. Nielsen-Marsh, C. M. Syversen, U. Kars H., Collins M. J. (2002) Sub-micron Spongiform Porosity is the Major Ultra-structural Alteration occurring in Archaeological Bone, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 12: 407–414

2001

• Wess T.J., Drakopoulos M., Snigirev A., Wouters J., Paris O., Fratzl P. Collins M., Hiller J., and Nielsen K. (2001) The use of small angle X-ray diffraction studies for the analysis of structural features in archaeological samples. Archaeometry. 43, 117-129.
• Covington A. D., Menderes O., Brown E. M., Collins M. J., and O'Duwole A, (2001) Studies on the mechanism of chrome tanning, IULTCS.
• Covington A. D., Lampard G. S., Ioannidis I. A., and Collins M. J. (2001) Advances in tanning theory, IULTCS.
• Craig, O.E, Collins M. J., Stacey R.J. (2001) The Ancient Potsherd: A unique environment for protein survival? British Archaeological Records. 939, 47-52.
• Collins, M. J. and Child-Gearney, A. M. (2001) Ancient proteins, In Palaeobiology II (Eds, Briggs, D. E. G. and Crowther, P.) Blackwell Science Inc, Oxford, pp. 245-247.
• Gernaey, A.M., Waite, E.R., Collins, M.J., Craig, O.E. and Sokol, R.J., 2001. The survival and interpretation of ancient proteins. In: D.R. Brothwell and A.M. Pollard (Editors), Handbook of Archaeological Sciences. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 323-331.
• Smith C.I., Chamberlain A.T., Riley, M.S., Cooper, A, Stringer, C.B. ∓ Collins, M.J., Ancient DNA. (2001) Not just old, but old and cold, Nature 410: 771-772.

Older stuff

• Collins, M.J., Gernaey, A.M., Nielsen-Marsh, C.M., Vermeer, C., Westbroek, P., 2000, Slow rates of degradation of osteocalcin: Green light for fossil bone protein? Geology, 28, 12, 1139-1142 [ Web Link]
• Collins, M.J. & Riley M. (2000) Amino acid racemization in biominerals, the impact of protein degradation and loss, In godfried et al., Amino Acid and Protein Geochemistry, Oxford University.