In Memoriam: Dr. John Collins
Dr. John Collins
Dr. John Collins died quietly at his home in Maders Cove, Nova Scotia, on February 17, 2025, surrounded by his family and overlooking his gardens and panoramic hilltop view of Mahone Bay.
Born in Kitchener, Ontario, October 2, 1936, John spent many summers of his youth with his extended Hannahson family and friends at the Ipperwash, Ontario cottage built by his grandfather, Alfred, a graduate of University of Toronto, B.A. (1890) and Knox College, Divinity School (1893), whose great-uncle was Toronto philanthropist, Jesse Ketchum. John met Carole at Western when a fourth was needed for a bridge game and he happened to be in the right place at the right time. They played bridge and created a rich life together until her passing in 2018. John continued to play bridge with partner Bill Hardman, the matchmaker at Western, and they achieved great success at tournaments in Lunenburg County and elsewhere.
John overcame the early loss of his father and set his sights upon medical school, graduating University of Western Ontario, M.D. in 1960. An illustrious career followed. As a McLaughlin Foundation fellow 1965-67, pursuing clinical endocrinological research, John and Carole travelled with their young family to Hindhead, England, Edinburgh, Scotland and East Finchley, England.
John was an obstetrician-gynecologist (OBGYN) and reproductive medicine specialist. His first practice was in London ON shared with his mentor Dr. Hugh Allen with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. Over the years of his career “Dr. John” helped to bring thousands of new lives into this world. Many of his past patients, secretaries and nurses continued to share updates with him. He is also widely recognized for his ground-breaking research into women’s reproductive health. He held senior academic positions, including Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medicine at Western University; Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dalhousie University and Chief of Staff for Grace Maternity Hospital (Halifax); and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at McMaster University where he was also Professor in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He was President of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, and the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
He was a Fellow ad eundem of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the Royal College of Surgeons (Canada) and a visiting Fellow at the World Health Organization Research in Human Reproduction Program. He was also a member of the Royal Belgium Academy of Medicine. He served on the Editorial Board of The New England Journal of Medicine as well as the Editorial Board of the journal Fertility and Sterility from 1991 to 1996 and was Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford journal Human Reproduction Update from 2006 to 2012. He was also an Epidemiology Consultant to the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine from 1996 to 2012 and a member of the FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) Committee on Reproductive Medicine. His academic contribution includes over 200 peer-reviewed papers on the effectiveness, safety and cost of interventions for reproductive health disorders, as well as the long-term cardiovascular and cancer outcomes associated with oral contraception and hormone replacement. He also wrote The History of The Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, 1954-1989 (McMaster Journal SOGC, 1992). Most recently John was a member of the Board of Directors for the Allen-Carey Scholarship in Obstetrics and Gynecology associated with London Health Sciences Foundation.
John was mentor and role model for many students and professionals in his field. One of his major contributions was to disseminate the McMaster Evidence-Based Medicine approach to the field of infertility research, where few randomized trials existed before the 1980s. His advocacy led to increased careful examination of fertility treatments and surgery. John was active as a researcher and advocate for women’s health in Europe, the USA and through the World Health Organization. In his last years he had been at work on the publication “Evaluating Studies of Long-term Menopausal Hormonal Therapy Risks: The Need for Randomized Controlled Trials,” co-authored with Dr. Gillian Graves. In 2019, John was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada by the Governor General recognizing “his transformative research in reproductive endocrinology and for promoting evidence-based medicine in women's health care.”
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