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Department of 91探花视频

 

Prof. Matthew Collins - on sabbatical for Michaelmas and Lent Terms 2024/25

Biography

I conduct research on the persistence of proteins in ancient samples, using modelling to explore the racemization of amino acids and thermal history to predict the survival of DNA and other molecules. Using a combination of approaches (including immunology and protein mass spectrometry) my research detects and interprets protein remnants in archaeological and fossil remains.

With former PhD student Dr Mike Buckley I developed ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) a way to rapidly identify bone and other collagen based materials using peptide mass fingerprinting.

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Research

The application of ancient proteins to archaeology

Analysis of protein evolution and decay

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I am presently involved in the following research projects in:

2016 - 2021 Niels Bohr Professor of Palaeoproteomics: University of Copenhagen: To establish new research capacity in plaeoprotemics in Denmark

2018听- 2023听Beasts to Craft:听 Parchment as a biological archive

2019 - 2023 ArcHives: Beeswax as a biological archive

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Also visit:

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Information for Prospective Postgraduate Students

Students that work with me have to be self motivated as my post in Cambridge is only 40%, 60% of the time I am in Copenhagen.听 听At present I have sufficient students, and do not think that I can realistically supervise more than I am planning to take on in 2021 from the and ITNs

I do not take self funded students, but will try to work with you to help find funding.

I like to collaborate so if you do contact me, I may try to find a way for you to work with my colleagues and I.听

Key Publications

Key publications: 

Demarchi, B., Hall, S., Roncal-Herrero, T., Freeman, C. L., Woolley, J., Crisp, M. K., Wilson, J., Fotakis, A., Fischer, R., Kessler, B. M., Rakownikow Jersie-Christensen, R., Olsen, J. V., Haile, J., Thomas, J., Marean, C. W., Parkington, J., Presslee, S., Lee-Thorp, J., Ditchfield, P., 鈥� Collins, M. J. (2016). Protein sequences bound to mineral surfaces persist into deep time. eLife, 5, e17092.

Hendy, J., Colonese, A. C., Franz, I., Fernandes, R., Fischer, R., Orton, D., Lucquin, A., Spindler, L., Anvari, J., Stroud, E., Biehl, P. F., Speller, C., Boivin, N., Mackie, M., Jersie-Christensen, R. R., Olsen, J. V., Collins, M. J., Craig, O. E., & Rosenstock, E. (2018). Ancient proteins from ceramic vessels at 脟atalh枚y眉k West reveal the hidden cuisine of early farmers. Nature Communications, 9(1), 4064.

Jensen, T. Z. T., Niemann, J., Iversen, K. H., Fotakis, A. K., Gopalakrishnan, S., V氓gene, 脜. J., Pedersen, M. W., Sinding, M.-H. S., Ellegaard, M. R., Allentoft, M. E., Lanigan, L. T., Taurozzi, A. J., Nielsen, S. H., Dee, M. W., Mortensen, M. N., Christensen, M. C., S酶rensen, S. A., Collins, M. J., Gilbert, M. T. P., 鈥� Schroeder, H. (2019). A 5700 year-old human genome and oral microbiome from chewed birch pitch. Nature Communications, 10(1), 5520.

Teasdale, M. D., Fiddyment, S., Vnou膷ek, J., Mattiangeli, V., Speller, C., Binois, A., Carver, M., Dand, C., Newfield, T. P., Webb, C. C., Bradley, D. G., & Collins, M. J. (2017). The York Gospels: a 1000-year biological palimpsest. Royal Society Open Science, 4(10), 170988.

Verdugo, M. P., Mullin, V. E., Scheu, A., Mattiangeli, V., Daly, K. G., Maisano Delser, P., Hare, A. J., Burger, J., Collins, M. J., Kehati, R., Hesse, P., Fulton, D., Sauer, E. W., Mohaseb, F. A., Davoudi, H., Khazaeli, R., Lhuillier, J., Rapin, C., Ebrahimi, S., 鈥� Bradley, D. G. (2019). Ancient cattle genomics, origins, and rapid turnover in the Fertile Crescent. Science, 365(6449), 173鈥�176.

Other publications: 

List on

Publication

Journal articles

2018

  • O'Connell, TC. and Collins, MJ., 2018. Comment on 鈥淓cological niche of Neanderthals from Spy Cave revealed by nitrogen isotopes of individual amino acids in collagen.鈥� Journal of Human Evolution, v. 117
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    • 2016 (Accepted for publication)

  • Coutu, AN., Lee-Thorp, J., Collins, MJ. and Lane, PJ., 2016 (Accepted for publication). Mapping the Elephants of the 19th Century East African Ivory Trade with a Multi-Isotope Approach. PLoS One, v. 11
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    • 2016

  • Charlton, S., Alexander, M., Collins, M., Milner, N., Mellars, P., O'Connell, TC., Stevens, RE. and Craig, OE., 2016. Finding Britain's last hunter-gatherers: A new biomolecular approach to 'unidentifiable' bone fragments utilising bone collagen JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE, v. 73
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    • 2015

  • Welker, F., Collins, MJ., Thomas, JA., Wadsley, M., Brace, S., Cappellini, E., Turvey, ST., Reguero, M., Gelfo, JN., Kramarz, A., Burger, J., Thomas-Oates, J., Ashford, DA., Ashton, PD., Rowsell, K., Porter, DM., Kessler, B., Fischer, R., Baessmann, C., Kaspar, S., Olsen, JV., Kiley, P., Elliott, JA., Kelstrup, CD., Mullin, V., Hofreiter, M., Willerslev, E., Hublin, J-J., Orlando, L., Barnes, I. and MacPhee, RDE., 2015. Ancient proteins resolve the evolutionary history of Darwin's South American ungulates. Nature, v. 522
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  • Fiddyment, S., Holsinger, B., Ruzzier, C., Devine, A., Binois, A., Albarella, U., Fischer, R., Nichols, E., Curtis, A., Cheese, E., Teasdale, MD., Checkley-Scott, C., Milner, SJ., Rudy, KM., Johnson, EJ., Vnou膷ek, J., Garrison, M., McGrory, S., Bradley, DG. and Collins, MJ., 2015. Animal origin of 13th-century uterine vellum revealed using noninvasive peptide fingerprinting. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, v. 112
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    • 2014

  • Rasmussen, M., Anzick, SL., Waters, MR., Skoglund, P., DeGiorgio, M., Stafford, TW., Rasmussen, S., Moltke, I., Albrechtsen, A., Doyle, SM., Poznik, GD., Gudmundsdottir, V., Yadav, R., Malaspinas, A-S., White, SS., Allentoft, ME., Cornejo, OE., Tambets, K., Eriksson, A., Heintzman, PD., Karmin, M., Korneliussen, TS., Meltzer, DJ., Pierre, TL., Stenderup, J., Saag, L., Warmuth, VM., Lopes, MC., Malhi, RS., Brunak, S., Sicheritz-Ponten, T., Barnes, I., Collins, M., Orlando, L., Balloux, F., Manica, A., Gupta, R., Metspalu, M., Bustamante, CD., Jakobsson, M., Nielsen, R. and Willerslev, E., 2014. The genome of a Late Pleistocene human from a Clovis burial site in western Montana. Nature, v. 506
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  • Warinner, C., Rodrigues, JFM., Vyas, R., Trachsel, C., Shved, N., Grossmann, J., Radini, A., Hancock, Y., Tito, RY., Fiddyment, S., Speller, C., Hendy, J., Charlton, S., Luder, HU., Salazar-Garc铆a, DC., Eppler, E., Seiler, R., Hansen, LH., Castruita, JAS., Barkow-Oesterreicher, S., Teoh, KY., Kelstrup, CD., Olsen, JV., Nanni, P., Kawai, T., Willerslev, E., von Mering, C., Lewis, CM., Collins, MJ., Gilbert, MTP., R眉hli, F. and Cappellini, E., 2014. Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity. Nat Genet, v. 46
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  • Warinner, C., Hendy, J., Speller, C., Cappellini, E., Fischer, R., Trachsel, C., Arneborg, J., Lynnerup, N., Craig, OE., Swallow, DM., Fotakis, A., Christensen, RJ., Olsen, JV., Liebert, A., Montalva, N., Fiddyment, S., Charlton, S., Mackie, M., Canci, A., Bouwman, A., R眉hli, F., Gilbert, MTP. and Collins, MJ., 2014. Direct evidence of milk consumption from ancient human dental calculus. Sci Rep, v. 4
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  • Bates, MR., Wenban-Smith, FF., Bello, SM., Bridgland, DR., Buck, LT., Collins, MJ., Keen, DH., Leary, J., Parfitt, SA., Penkman, K., Rhodes, E., Ryssaert, C. and Whittaker, JE., 2014. Late persistence of the Acheulian in southern Britain in an MIS 8 interstadial: Evidence from Harnham, Wiltshire Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 101
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    • 2013

  • Penkman, KEH., Preece, RC., Bridgland, DR., Keen, DH., Meijer, T., Parfitt, SA., White, TS. and Collins, MJ., 2013. An aminostratigraphy for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula. Quat Sci Rev, v. 61
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    • 2012

  • Cappellini, E., Jensen, LJ., Szklarczyk, D., Ginolhac, A., da Fonseca, RAR., Stafford, TW., Holen, SR., Collins, MJ., Orlando, L., Willerslev, E., Gilbert, MTP. and Olsen, JV., 2012. Proteomic analysis of a pleistocene mammoth femur reveals more than one hundred ancient bone proteins. J Proteome Res, v. 11
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  • Allentoft, ME., Collins, M., Harker, D., Haile, J., Oskam, CL., Hale, ML., Campos, PF., Samaniego, JA., Gilbert, MTP., Willerslev, E., Zhang, G., Scofield, RP., Holdaway, RN. and Bunce, M., 2012. The half-life of DNA in bone: measuring decay kinetics in 158 dated fossils. Proc Biol Sci, v. 279
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    • 2011

  • Penkman, KEH., Preece, RC., Bridgland, DR., Keen, DH., Meijer, T., Parfitt, SA., White, TS. and Collins, MJ., 2011. A chronological framework for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula. Nature, v. 476
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  • Penkman, KEH., Preece, RC., Bridgland, DR., Keen, DH., Meijer, T., Parfitt, SA., White, TS. and Collins, MJ., 2011. A chronological framework for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula Nature,
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    2010

  • Penkman, KEH., Preece, RC., Keen, DH. and Collins, MJ., 2010. Amino acid geochronology of the type Cromerian of West Runton, Norfolk, UK. Quat Int, v. 228
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  • Cappellini, E., Gilbert, MTP., Geuna, F., Fiorentino, G., Hall, A., Thomas-Oates, J., Ashton, PD., Ashford, DA., Arthur, P., Campos, PF., Kool, J., Willerslev, E. and Collins, MJ., 2010. A multidisciplinary study of archaeological grape seeds. Naturwissenschaften, v. 97
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  • Campos, PF., Sher, A., Mead, JI., Tikhonov, A., Buckley, M., Collins, M., Willerslev, E. and Gilbert, MTP., 2010. Clarification of the taxonomic relationship of the extant and extinct ovibovids, Ovibos, Praeovibos, Euceratherium and Bootherium Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 29
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    • 2009

  • King, GA., Gilbert, MTP., Willerslev, E., Collins, MJ. and Kenward, H., 2009. Recovery of DNA from archaeological insect remains: first results, problems and potential Journal of Archaeological Science, v. 36
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    • 2008

  • Blyth, AJ., Baker, A., Collins, MJ., Penkman, KEH., Gilmour, MA., Moss, JS., Genty, D. and Drysdale, RN., 2008. Molecular organic matter in speleothems and its potential as an environmental proxy QUATERNARY SCI REV, v. 27
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    • 2007

  • Penkman, KEH., Preece, RC., Keen, DH., Maddy, D., Schreve, DC. and Collins, MJ., 2007. Testing the aminostratigraphy of fluvial archives: the evidence from intra-crystalline proteins within freshwater shells Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 26
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  • Willerslev, E., Cappellini, E., Boomsma, W., Nielsen, R., Hebsgaard, MB., Brand, TB., Hofreiter, M., Bunce, M., Poinar, HN., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S., Steffensen, JP., Bennike, O., Schwenninger, J-L., Nathan, R., Armitage, S., de Hoog, C-J., Alfimov, V., Christl, M., Beer, J., Muscheler, R., Barker, J., Sharp, M., Penkman, KEH., Haile, J., Taberlet, P., Gilbert, MTP., Casoli, A., Campani, E. and Collins, MJ., 2007. Ancient biomolecules from deep ice cores reveal a forested southern Greenland. Science, v. 317
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  • Gilbert, MTP., Tomsho, LP., Rendulic, S., Packard, M., Drautz, DI., Sher, A., Tikhonov, A., Dal茅n, L., Kuznetsova, T., Kosintsev, P., Campos, PF., Higham, T., Collins, MJ., Wilson, AS., Shidlovskiy, F., Buigues, B., Ericson, PGP., Germonpr茅, M., G枚therstr枚m, A., Iacumin, P., Nikolaev, V., Nowak-Kemp, M., Willerslev, E., Knight, JR., Irzyk, GP., Perbost, CS., Fredrikson, KM., Harkins, TT., Sheridan, S., Miller, W. and Schuster, SC., 2007. Whole-genome shotgun sequencing of mitochondria from ancient hair shafts. Science, v. 317
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    • 2006

  • Gilbert, MTP., Hansen, AJ., Willerslev, E., Turner-Walker, G. and Collins, M., 2006. Insights into the processes behind the contamination of degraded human teeth and bone samples with exogenous sources of DNA International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, v. 16
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    • 2005

  • Parfitt, SA., Barendregt, RW., Breda, M., Candy, I., Collins, MJ., Coope, GR., Durbidge, P., Field, MH., Lee, JR., Lister, AM., Mutch, R., Penkman, KEH., Preece, RC., Rose, J., Stringer, CB., Symmons, R., Whittaker, JE., Wymer, JJ. and Stuart, AJ., 2005. The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe NATURE, v. 438
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  • Gilbert, MTP., Rudbeck, L., Willerslev, E., Hansen, AJ., Smith, C., Penkman, KEH., Prangenberg, K., Nielsen-Marsh, CM., Jans, ME., Arthur, P., Lynneruo, N., Turner-Walker, G., Biddle, M., Kj酶lbye, B. and Collins, MJ., 2005. Biochemical and physical correlates of DNA contamination in archaeological human bones and teeth excavated at Matera, Italy Journal of Archaeological Science, v. 32
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    • Teaching and Supervisions

    Teaching: 

    Current students:

    • Carla de Soto Parchment decay and conservation (with Devro)
    • Erin M Keenan Early ZooMS of N. American Fauna (Texas)
    • Tuuli Kasso (Copenhagen)
    • Laura Vinas (Copenhaggen)
    • Bharath Nair (Copenhagen)
    • Bia Fonseca (Copenhagen, with Karina Sand)
    • Liam Llanigan (Copenhagen, with Hannes Schroeder and Tom Gilbert
    • Ruairidh Macleod (Cambridge, MPhil)
    • Yuan Yue (Cambridge)
    • Miranda Evan (Cambridge, with Tamsin O'Connell, and Jessie Hendy, York)
    • Tianyi Wang听(Cambridge with Piers Mitchell)
    • Sophie Rabinow (Cambridge听 with Piers Mitchell)听

    Past students:

    • Andrew Spooner 1992 Industry Environment
    • Ben Stern 1993 Senior Lecturer Bradford
    • Emman Waite 1997 Industry Bioscience
    • Dave Robertson 1998 Industry Petroleum
    • Oliver Craig 1998 Professor, York
    • Colin Smith 2000 Senior Lecturer, LaTrobe, University
    • Jen Hiller 2001听听 Industry
    • Miranda Jans 2001 Forensics (US Military)
    • Kirsty Penkman 2001 Professor York
    • Rebecca Griffin 2002 Administration Canberra
    • Hannah Koon 2003 Senior Lecturer Bradford
    • Simon McGrory 2006 Project Officer (Heritage)
    • Rose Drew 2004 Osteoarchaeology
    • Mike Buckley 2010 Royal Society Research Professor, Manchester
    • Nienke Van Doorn 2012 Industry York Archaeological Trust
    • Isabella von Holstein 2012 PDRA, Amsterdam
    • Jo Powell 2013 Industry
    • Marc Wadsley 2013 Bioinformatics NHS
    • Yang Yue 2013 Industry Environment
    • Frido Welker 2017 Assistant Professor, Copenhagen
    • Jessica Hendy 2017 Lecturer, York
    • Sean Doherty, 2016, Postdoc Exeter
    • Jiri Vnoucek, Postdoc B2C, Conservator Royal Library
    • Keri Rowsell,Research Administration听(UCL)
    • Ioannis Kontopoulos, Postdoc (Copenhagen)
    • Theis Jensen, Postdoc (Copenhagen)
    • Abigail Lowe, Postdoc (Copenhagen)
    • Talari Gopai, PhD (UCD)
    Research supervision: 

    I currently supervise students investigating in a range of topics related to the use of proteins to address archaeological research questions from evolution, to diet, disease, demography and chronology.听 I am interested in supervising students with a passion to work across disciplines who wish to study for an MPhil or a PhD in the following topics:

    • Modelling the survival and decay of ancient proteins
    • Mathematical approaches to the analysis of complex datasets
    • Developing low cost tools for demography
    • Developing novel methods to extract and analyse ancient proteins
    • Applying ancient protein analysis to their archaeological repertoire

    Other Professional Activities

    Fellow of the British Academy

    Niels Bohr Professor in Palaeoproteomics, University of Copenhagen

    Member of the Royal Danish听Society of Science and Letters

    Job Titles

    McDonald Professor in Palaeoproteomics
    Matthew Collins (image Lars Svankj忙r)

    General Info

    Available for consultancy
    Research Expertise / Fields of study: 
    Material Culture
    Biomolecular 91探花视频
    Cultural Heritage

    Contact Details

    Department of 91探花视频, 91探花视频
    matthew [at] palaeome.org
    Cambridge
    CB2 3DZ

    Affiliations

    Person keywords: 
    Ancient Proteins
    ZooMS
    Immunology
    Proteomics
    Parchment
    Beeswax
    Subjects: 
    Archaeological Science
    91探花视频
    Themes: 
    Science, Technology and Innovation
    Material Culture
    Heritage
    Human Evolutionary Studies
    Geographical areas: 
    Africa
    Britain
    Egypt and Sudan
    Europe
    Southeast Asia
    Periods of interest: 
    Medieval
    Other Historical
    Palaeolithic/Mesolithic
    Post-Medieval

    Contact Us

    Postal Address:
    Department of 91探花视频
    Downing Street
    CB2 3DZ Cambridge

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    Information provided听by:听

    outreach@arch.cam.ac.uk

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