Biography
Professor Simon Robinson graduated from City University, London, with a BSc (Hons) degree in Biological Chemistry. During his degree course, he spent an industrial placement year at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, during which he was introduced to the biomedical applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy.
Professor Robinson then pursued a Cancer Research Campaign/Zeneca CASE PhD studentship at St George’s, University of London, and secured his PhD entitled “NMR Studies of Tumour Models” in 1995. The project demanded a full appraisal of the relative merits, limitations and clinical relevance of pre-clinical tumour models being used in cancer imaging investigations, a recurring theme throughout his research career. He continued his post-doctoral studies at St. George’s, exploiting the use of intrinsic susceptibility MRI techniques, based on the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) MRI method, to image tumour pathophysiology, for which he gained international recognition.
In 2001, Professor Robinson was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship concerned with the further development and application of non-invasive MRI methods to identify and evaluate quantitative imaging biomarkers of tumour pathophysiology. These techniques were used to i) interrogate tumours derived from cell lines with altered expression of specific genes that influence tumour progression and angiogenesis, and ii) assess tumour response to vascular disrupting agents.
In 2006, Professor Robinson transferred his Fellowship to the ICR to take up a Career Development Faculty post, leading a pre-clinical MRI team within the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research Section. He secured tenure at the ICR in 2011.
Professor Robinson was a named co-investigator in the CRUK & EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre awarded to the ICR in 2008, and renewed in 2013. Professor Robinson’s research continues to focus on the application of both established and innovative, quantitative functional MRI techniques to evaluate imaging biomarkers of tumour pathophysiology and treatment response in pre-clinical models of cancer.
Professor Robinson gained the title of Reader at the ICR in 2019 and was conferred with the title of Professor in 2022.
Professor Robinson is a member of the Cancer Research UK Convergence Science Centre, which brings together leading researchers in engineering, physical sciences, life sciences and medicine to develop innovative ways to address challenges in cancer.
Convergence Science Centre