Purdue Trustees Ratify Appointment of Dr. J. Paul Robinson as Distinguished Professor of Cytometry

Paul Robinson portrait

The newest distinguished professor in the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine is Dr. J. Paul Robinson, a faculty member in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences and director of the Purdue University Cytometry Laboratories.  The Purdue University Board of Trustees ratified Dr. Robinson’s appointment as Distinguished Professor of Cytometry last Friday, December 3.

Dr. Robinson holds a joint appointment as the SVM Professor of Cytomics in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences and professor of biomedical engineering in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to cytometry, including the latest spectral technology. Dr. Robinson’s work has led to 18 patents in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. In 2019, Dr. Robinson received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry. He also is a past president of the International Society for the Advancement of Cytometry and currently serves as editor-in-chief of “Current Protocols in Cytometry.”

Dr. Robinson earned his PhD in immunopathology from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan.  In 2020, he was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which is the world’s largest general scientific society. 

Dr. Robinson has had a long-term interest in the evaluation of phenotypic analysis of blood cells. He and his team have developed several cell analysis technologies for functional analysis of white blood cells using flow cytometry and various imaging modalities. His lab has significant experience in evaluating phenotypic status of blood samples, particularly the dissection of T cell, B cell, and a variety of other cellular subsets. He also has much experience in sorting cell populations for future cell culturing needs or for additional molecular genetic analysis.

Dr. Robinson has taught advanced courses in over a dozen countries, given over 160 invited international lectures and made over 400 conference presentations.  He also was an early adopter of web-based educational materials by producing one of the first-known published CD-ROMs in 1996.  He has since published 15 CD-ROMS or DVDs with a total distribution of around 100,000 copies – all free-of-charge.

Dr. Robinson becomes the fourth Distinguished Professor named in the college in the last two years, joining Dr. Harm HogenEsch, Distinguished Professor of Immunopathology; Dr. Ourania Andrisani, Distinguished Professor of Basic Medical Sciences; and Dr. Deborah Knapp, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology. The college also has two other Distinguished Professors, Dr. Timothy Ratliff, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Pathobiology, and Dr. Suresh Mittal, Distinguished Professor of Virology, for a total of six.  A reception honoring the newest Distinguished Professors is scheduled for January 20 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m., in the Veterinary Medical Library.  All members of the PVM family are invited.

Click here to view a Purdue news release about the Board of Trustees ratification of Dr. Robinson’s appointment as well as five other professor positions across the University.

Writer(s): Kevin Doerr and Purdue University Marketing and Communications | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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