Robert Collins graduated from Vanderbilt University B.A. in 1948 and M.D. in 1951. He served as an Assistant Professor (1959-1965) and an Associate Professor (1965-1968) in the Department of Pathology. Collins was appointed Assistant Dean of Medical Education from 1965-1968, and he became a Professor in the Department of Pathology in 1968.

Collins was named the first recipient of the John L. Shapiro Chair in the Department of Pathology in 1996 and received the Distinguished Pathologist Award in 2010. The award recognized Collins for distinguished service and major contributions to the discipline of pathology. Collins, along with collaborator Robert J. Lukes, developed one of the first classification systems for lymphomas--the Lukes/Collins system--which discriminates malignant lymphomas according to their cell of origin (B-cell or T-cell types). Collins' studies confirmed that lymphomas obey the same rules as other types of cancer. He and his colleagues were also among the first to describe follicular lymphomas, splenic and nodal marginal zone lymphomas, peripheral T-cell lymphomas, and anaplastic large cell lymphomas.

In addition to his research and clinical accomplishments, Collins authored the book Ernest William Goodpasture: Scientist, Scholar, Gentleman, a biography of Ernest Goodpasture, one of Vanderbilt's most noted scientists and the first chair of the Department of Pathology. Dr. Collins published another book devoted the VUMC history, "Ahmic Lake Connections the Founding Leadership of Vanderbilt University." He died in Nashville, November 28, 2013.