About

Professor Scott Collins has served on the faculty of the Smeal College of Business since 2012. He brings extensive experience in accounting practice and teaching, having worked as a staff auditor with a multi-billion dollar CPA firm, a plant controller at a large food manufacturing company, and a financial controller at a pre-IPO internet startup. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Management with a focus on Accounting from Claremont Graduate University, an M.S. in Business Administration (Accounting) from The Pennsylvania State University, an MBA in Management (Finance) from Claremont Graduate University, and a B.A. in Business-Economics (Accounting) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Collins's primary research interests include experimental and behavioral studies related to educational pedagogy, as well as the impact of annual report complexity and sentiment on investor behavior. At Penn State, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in financial accounting, managerial accounting, and accounting information systems, and serves as the Discipline Coordinator of Accounting and the Director of the One-Year Master of Accounting (MAcc) Program.

Research topics

• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Chemistry
• Microbiology
• Genetics
• Chromatography
• Computational biology
• Endocrinology
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Sphingosine Kinase 2 Regulates Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Nuclear Translocation and Target Gene Activation

  Advanced Science · 2024-08-29 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Sphingolipids play vital roles in metabolism and regulation. Previously, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a ligand-activated transcription factor, was reported to directly regulate ceramide synthesis genes by binding to their promoters. Herein, sphingosine kinase 2 (SPHK2), responsible for producing sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), was found to interact with AHR through LXXLL motifs, influencing AHR nuclear localization. Through mutagenesis and co-transfection studies, AHR activation and subsequent nuclear translocation was hindered by SPHK2 LXXLL mutants or SPHK2 lacking a nuclear localization signal (NLS). Similarly, an NLS-deficient AHR mutant impaired SPHK2 nuclear translocation. Silencing SPHK2 reduced AHR expression and its target gene CYP1A1, while SPHK2 overexpression enhanced AHR activity. SPHK2 was found enriched on the CYP1A1 promoter, underscoring its role in AHR target gene activation. Additionally, S1P rapidly increased AHR expression at both the mRNA and protein levels and promoted AHR recruitment to the CYP1A1 promoter. Using mouse models, AHR deficiency compromised SPHK2 nuclear translocation, illustrating a critical interaction where SPHK2 facilitates AHR nuclear localization and supports a positive feedback loop between AHR and sphingolipid enzyme activity in the nucleus. These findings highlight a novel function of SPHK2 in regulating AHR activity and gene expression.

  PublisherDOI

• Electrocardiographic abnormalities are associated with seropositive Trypanosoma cruzi infection status using a simplified cardiac diagnostic evaluation in dogs

  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · 2024-08-28 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: To describe associations between cardiac abnormalities and Trypanosoma cruzi serostatus by use of a simplified diagnostic evaluation in dogs at risk for T cruzi infection. METHODS: A prospective, cross-sectional study was performed using a simplified diagnostic evaluation including high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I, 30-second ECG, and echocardiogram with 7 variables in 46 client-owned dogs from high-risk environments. Dogs were categorized as serologically positive (SP), negative (SN), or discordant (SD) by use of 2 antibody tests. Functional evaluation of cardiac health scores and blood PCR were obtained. RESULTS: Dogs were SP (n = 19), SN (17), and SD (10), with 9 PCR positive (7 SP, 1 SN, 1 SD). Troponin was above reference range in 6 of 46 (4 SP, 1 SN, 1 SD), and functional evaluation of cardiac health scores were 0 in all dogs. Conduction system abnormalities (prolonged interval durations, second-degree atrioventricular block, splintered QRS complex) and ventricular arrhythmias were documented in 8 (7 SP, 0 SN, 1 SD). Twenty-six (12 SP, 8 SN, 6 SD) had echocardiographic abnormalities, most often myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and left ventricular enlargement. Seropositive dogs were significantly older and had a higher likelihood of MMVD. Conduction system abnormalities were associated with positive serostatus. CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiographic abnormalities were complicated by MMVD and did not distinguish between serostatus. An ECG with assessment and detailed measurement of complexes and cardiac troponin I are simple tests to perform with abnormalities detected in seroreactive dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Electrocardiographic abnormalities in high-risk or seroreactive dogs should prompt further evaluation and monitoring of T cruzi infection.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Postoperative Hydration in Children Using Intermittent Boluses of Balanced Salt Solution: Results of a Randomized Control Trial

  Journal of Pediatric Surgery · 2024-08-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Bile salt hydrolase catalyses formation of amine-conjugated bile acids

  Nature · 2024 · 198 citations

  • Biochemistry
  • Biology
  • Chemistry

  ; however, the bacterial gene(s) responsible for their production remain unknown. Herein, we report that bile salt hydrolase (BSH) possesses dual functions in bile acid metabolism. Specifically, we identified a previously unknown role for BSH as an amine N-acyltransferase that conjugates amines to bile acids, thus forming bacterial bile acid amidates (BBAAs). To characterize this amine N-acyltransferase BSH activity, we used pharmacological inhibition of BSH, heterologous expression of bsh and mutants in Escherichia coli and bsh knockout and complementation in Bacteroides fragilis to demonstrate that BSH generates BBAAs. We further show in a human infant cohort that BBAA production is positively correlated with the colonization of bsh-expressing bacteria. Lastly, we report that in cell culture models, BBAAs activate host ligand-activated transcription factors including the pregnane X receptor and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. These findings enhance our understanding of how gut bacteria, through the promiscuous actions of BSH, have a significant role in regulating the bile acid metabolic network.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reverse metabolomics for the discovery of chemical structures from humans

  Nature · 2023 · 163 citations

  • Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Computational biology

  . Culture of bacteria belonging to the Bifidobacterium, Clostridium and Enterococcus genera produced these bile amidates. Because searching repositories with tandem mass spectrometry spectra has only recently become possible, this reverse metabolomics approach can now be used as a general strategy to discover other molecules from human and animal ecosystems.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• BSH_resubmission

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2023-07-06

  articleOpen access

  Data, and codes to generate figures in BSH resubmission

  PublisherDOI

• MBAAs (Working Title)

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2022-09-09

  articleOpen access

  RNA-seq analysis codes for the MBAAs paper

  PublisherDOI

• Bile acids and the gut microbiota: metabolic interactions and impacts on disease

  Nature Reviews Microbiology · 2022 · 1016 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Microbiology
  PublisherDOI

• Bile Acids Are Substrates for Amine N-Acyl Transferase Activity by Bile Salt Hydrolase

  Research Square (Research Square) · 2022 · 20 citations

  • Biochemistry
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Synthesis-Based Reverse Metabolomics Approach for the Discovery of Chemical Structures from Humans and Animals.

  Research Square · 2021-08-30 · 21 citations

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Gregor Reid

  Western University

  17 shared

• Frank J. Gonzalez

  Colciencias

  12 shared

• Mark W. Sumarah

  11 shared

• Andrew D. Patterson

  Pennsylvania State University

  11 shared

• Sari Izenwasser

  University of Miami

  11 shared

• Amy McMillan

  Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

  9 shared

• Matthew Burge

  Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

  8 shared

• Tingting Yan

  National Institutes of Health

  6 shared