Independent Director | Growth Works Life Sciences
Dr. Asha S. Collins is a business leader and board director with over two decades of experience building and scaling companies at the intersection of life sciences, technology, and healthcare. She has held senior executive roles across the biopharma and healthtech sectors, where she is known for her ability to drive growth, build high-performing teams, and translate scientific innovation into global impact.
Most recently, Dr. Collins served as Senior Vice President and General Manager at DNAnexus, where she led the development and commercialization of a category-defining biobank analytics platform. Under her leadership, the business grew ninefold in three years and delivered the largest whole exome and whole genome data releases in history—advancing the frontier of biomedical research and high-performance cloud computing. Prior to that, she led U.S. Clinical Operations at Genentech/Roche, overseeing a 600-person team and spearheading operational innovations that accelerated trial timelines and improved patient access.
Dr. Collins serves on the boards of LifeScience Logistics, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and NASA’s Translational Research Institute for Space Health. She is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a recognized voice in precision medicine, AI-driven healthcare, and the future of scientific research. Her writing and thought leadership have been featured in industry publications and the best-selling textbook Mobile Medicine.
She earned her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is widely regarded for her ability to bridge science and business to create scalable solutions that advance human health—on Earth and beyond.