This episode explores how Professor James Collins and his team are using AI and synthetic biology to tackle some of humanity’s biggest challenges — from designing new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant superbugs, to creating rapid diagnostic tools for global pandemics, and even engineering biology for environmental solutions like plastic recycling. The conversation goes beyond science, touching on critical thinking, failure as a driver of innovation, leadership, education, and the future role of AI. It’s a rich discussion about the intersection of technology, biology, and human resilience — and what it really takes to solve world-changing problems.Jim Collins is the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering & Science and Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT, as well as a Member of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology Faculty. He is also a Core Founding Faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, and an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He is one of the founders of the field of synthetic biology, and his research group is currently focused on using synthetic biology to create next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. Professor Collins’ patented technologies have been licensed by over 25 biotech, pharma and medical devices companies, and he has co-founded a number of companies, including Synlogic, Senti Biosciences, Sherlock Biosciences and Cellarity, as well as Phare Bio, a non-profit focused on AI-driven antibiotic discovery. He has received numerous awards and honors, including a MacArthur “Genius” Award and the Dickson Prize in Medicine, and he is an elected member of all three national academies – the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine.