Dr. Asha S. Collins

Dr. Asha S. Collins is a biologist, strategist and operational leader focused on transforming and scaling biopharma businesses. Her experiences span molecular virology, science policy, management consulting, operational leadership roles at Fortune 200 companies, concept-to-launch research operations in Ethiopia, angel investing, as well as being an independent corporate Director at an S&P 500 public company. She leverages her scientific training, systems thinking, strategic capabilities, and people leadership skills to repeatedly drive accelerated growth and value creation across diverse biopharma organizations.

Currently, Dr. Collins is General Manager of the Data Provider Platforms business for DNAnexus, a venture-backed, cloud-based bioinformatics company. In this role, Dr. Collins is responsible for managing the development and commercialization of large, population-scale, biomedical research analysis platforms. These platforms allow data providers to make multi-omics, clinical, imaging, and other biomedical data available to specific users, at scale and securely. Specifically, for UK Biobank, she is leading the team that will see a database scale to more than 40 petabytes in the next five years. Previously, she was the head of US Clinical Operations at Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. In this role, she managed a team of over 500 people and was responsible for improving the operations for all, in-sourced, late-stage clinical trials conducted in the United States across the entire portfolio, i.e., Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Ophthalmology, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Rare Diseases. Prior to this role, she was Vice President / General Manager at McKesson where she successfully relaunched their $200M+ US Comparator Sourcing business. In the past, she has utilized her virology background to work in bioterrorism at the National Academies and has served as a management consultant focused on life sciences strategy and operations at Deloitte and Quintiles Consulting, driving some of the most innovative engagements for these practices.

Dr. Collins also serves as an author and business thought leader. In addition, to peer-reviewed scientific publications, she has also authored a recent article for ABCNews outlining regarding pandemic operations, an op-ed for STATNews detailing the benefits of space exploration for all people, and is one of the authors of, Mobile Medicine: Overcoming People, Culture, and Governance, a best-selling medical technology textbook. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), an organization that helps support human health research for NASA’s space exploration efforts. Asha is also proud to serve as an independent Corporate Director for IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ: IDXX) where she sits on the Nominating & Governance Committee, as well as on the Finance Committee.

In her spare time, Dr. Collins is an Aspen Institute Health Innovator Fellow, a recognized speaker on healthcare innovation, leader of a community dedicated to supporting underrepresented healthcare entrepreneurs, an angel investor, and has ongoing work focused on improving healthcare access in East Africa.

When not involved in these activities, you will find Asha on a yoga mat, reading science fiction and fantasy novels, hiking fun mountains, or simply in nature being.