John A. Robinson

John Robinson studied chemistry at University College, London, where he was awarded the B.Sc. degree in 1974. He completed his Ph.D. at Cambridge University in 1977, under the supervision of Professor A. R. Battersby. With a Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellowship, he subsequently carried out postdoctoral work in the Biochemistry Institute of the University of Karlsruhe, before joining the Chemistry Department of Southampton University, UK in 1979 as a lecturer. In 1987, he became senior lecturer, and was awarded the Hickinbottom Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He moved to Zurich as Full Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1989.

John Robinson retired in August 2018.

His main research theme was concerned with the study of protein epitope mimetics - synthetic molecules designed to have folded structures that mimic the biologically important surface features of proteins. He used synthetic chemistry to synthesize peptidomimetics, studied their preferred structures in solution, often using NMR spectroscopy, and investigated their biological activity either using assays developed in-house, or through collaborations with external research groups. His group explored potential applications of these mimetics as novel drugs and vaccines targeting important areas of unmet medical need, and worked together with industry to develop potential clinical candidates.