Director, Anatomical Services
UMass Chan Medical School
Amanda Collins, MPH is an Assistant Professor for the Division of Translational Anatomy at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and is the Director of Anatomical Services. Ms. Collins is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Gerontology at University of Massachusetts – Boston, focusing her research on grief, bereavement, and end-of-life care. Ms. Collins completed her Master's of Public Health at the University of Vermont and her undergraduate studies in Mortuary Science and Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
Ms. Collins joined the UMass Chan Medical School in 2016 as the Director of Anatomical Services. As the Director, she oversees the operations of the Anatomical Gift Program and manages the Anatomy Resource Center. Her interests include preservation techniques, environmental health and lab safety, as well as improving educational efforts in the anatomy lab. Her research efforts explore grief, healthy aging, and body donation ethics, all of which she strives to integrate into the lab experience.
Ms. Collins sits on the Anatomical Gift Program Oversight Committee, the Pine Hill Cemetery Board of Directors, and is a co-chair for the Rainbow Research Group for the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). She is an active member in the professional organizations: National Funeral Directors Association of America, American Association for Anatomy (AAA) and has co-founded the Eastern Consortium for Academic Body Donation Programs.
Ms. Collins specializes in anatomical preservation, death care, and ethics of body donation. Her work focuses on community engagement and improving the donation experience for everyone from registrants and donor families to the medical students working with anatomical donors. Ms. Collins has presented internationally on the ethics of body donation, improving patient representation in the anatomy lab, and having “green” donation options for the donor community.
