Endocrine Abstracts

Iain Robinson, UK Abstract

This prestigious prize is intended for established workers in field of basic and clinical neuroendocrinology, and is generously supported by Ipsen. This year's recipient is Professor Iain Robinson. The prize will be presented as part of the ECE 2010 opening ceremony where Professor Robinson will deliver his lecture. Professor robinson will also deliver two other lectures at future ESE Scientific meetings. Further information can be found at http://www.euro-endo.org/about/about_prizes.htm

After training in Physiology and Medicine in Oxford, Dr Iain Robinson held post-doctoral fellowships at Magdalen College, and in the Department of Physiology in Copenhagen. In 1977, he joined the MRC's National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill, London, establishing a long-term research program in neuroendocrine physiology and molecular genetics. He became Head of the Division of Molecular Neuroendocrinology, and in 2009, Head of Neurosciences, and Director of the NIMR. He is a Visiting Professor at University College, London and Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences. He has also spent time as a visiting scientist and research director in pharmaceutical companies in the US and Sweden, and was a co-founder of the Biotech company, Tercica, that made IGF1 available for clinical therapeutic use.

His research interests are in the hypothalamic control of the pituitary gland, including its development and molecular genetics, the regulation of hormone production and secretion, and the physiological consequences of hormone action. His initial studies were on the posterior pituitary oxytocin system, developing assays still in use today. However his main focus has been on the neuroendocrine control of growth, developing the first automated blood microsampling techniques to study patterns of growth hormone (GH) secretion and action. His work showed how GH is regulated by the hypothalamic GHRH and somatostatin systems, and how the resulting secretory patterns were important in controlling growth and metabolism. His pioneering work using transgenic animal models has unraveled several genetic mechanisms responsible for different types of pituitary endocrine dysfunction in children, and opened up new possibilities for cellular repair. Combining insights from molecular genetics in humans and new imaging approaches in animals, his work has shed new light on the neuroendocrine physiology and pathophysiology of the GH system.