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Melanie Sue Collins, MD

Director, Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship
Director, Cardiopulmonary Lab
Medical Director, Division of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Co-Director, The Asthma Center at Connecticut Children’s
Associate Director, Central Connecticut Cystic Fibrosis Center


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Practice Name Connecticut Children's Specialty Group

Education

Education
BS/BA, University of Connecticut, 1997
MD, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 2002

Residency
Pediatrics, University of Connecticut, 2002-2005

Fellowship
Pediatric Pulmonology, University of Connecticut, 2005-2008

Board Certifications

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Faculty Appointment

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine

    Clinical Expertise

    Dr. Collins is Director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Program. She is also Director of the Cardiopulmonary Testing Laboratory that provides pulmonary function testing as well as cardiac stress testing. The lab became recognized by the American Thoracic Society for the first time in 2021 under her direction.

    She became the Medical Director of the Division in July of 2021 and in October 2021 Co-Director of the Asthma Center as well. Dr. Collins is the Associate Director of the Central Connecticut Cystic Fibrosis Center and Clinical Director of the cystic fibrosis newborn screening program and a member of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) Special Interest Group on newborn screening. She is a Skills Champion for the CFF Partnership Enhancement Program.

    Dr. Collins became Fellowship Director in July 2020. She has recently started the Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Diversity/Inclusion Committee to help broaden the depth of the program. In 2022, she was selected to be on the ACGME National Committee to draft the pediatric pulmonary fellowship “new” milestones. In addition, she has enrolled the Fellowship Program in two national studies to improve the quality of the evaluation process of our fellows and to provide a dynamic telemedicine curriculum. Her goal is to expand and enhance the individuality of the program. She is a member of the Association of the Pediatric Program Directors and the Pediatric Pulmonary Training Directors Association (PEPTDA).

    Dr. Collins worked with her co-director Dr. Jess Hollenbach to revise the Easy Breathing Program guidelines to reflect the new national (NHLBI) asthma guidelines. They have collaborated to bring many presentations on “SMART” asthma therapy to primary care providers to help them embrace these guidelines.

    In 2022, Dr. Collins was selected to be on a national CF grant from the CF Foundation for telegenetics in CF NBS due to the success of incorporating telegenetics, under her guidance and collaboration with Dr. Sidney Hopfer, into our CF Newborn Screening Program at University of Connecticut Health Center. In 2014, Dr. Collins co-chaired a symposium on care of the young child with cystic fibrosis at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference. She is also part of the CF patient and family advisory board and the Connecticut Children’s QI team, which has been featured in CFF educational materials and presents nationally.

    Dr. Collins was selected in 2021 to be the E-cigarette Chapter Champion for the CT AAP in recognition of her work in advocacy to prevent vaping in children. She received a Special Achievement Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics for her work in advocacy for the prevention of vaping.

    Dr. Collins collaborates with Dr. Tom Murray at Yale to investigate bacterial aerosolization from patient nebulizers in the laboratory setting. They also investigate the most efficient/effective methods of disinfecting nebulizers for cystic fibrosis patients.

    Dr. Collins has great passion for caring for all children with complex medical conditions and educating the next generation of pediatric pulmonologists. She strives to maximize patients’ respiratory function (and minimize their treatments) so that they can lead happy and healthy lives. She is a member of the American Thoracic Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

    Selected Publications

    Patient Feedback

    The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on our nationally-recognized Patient Satisfaction Survey . Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments also are gathered from our Patient Satisfaction Survey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

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