| Roger W. Robinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 22, 1909 Buffalo, NY |
| Died | November 11, 2010 (aged 101) Grafton, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University Medical School |
| Known for | Lipid research, Hormone replacement therapy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cardiology |
| Institutions | Memorial Hospital (Worcester) |
Roger W. Robinson (July 22, 1909 – November 11, 2010) was an American cardiologist who served as chief of cardiology and chief of medicine at Memorial Hospital, Worcester, MA. He was the director of the Lipid Research Laboratory and served as a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is considered a pioneer in the field of lipid and atherosclerosis research.
Early life and career
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Robinson was born in Buffalo, NY on July 22, 1909, to William W. and Anna (Hoover) Robinson. He graduated Northwestern University Medical School (Chicago) in 1935 and completed his post graduate training in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now Brigham and Women’s hospital) in Boston, MA. He joined Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA in 1939 and served there in various roles over the ensuing 50 years. He served as an Army physician during World War II, as chief of cardiology and subsequently as chief of medicine at UMass Memorial Medical Center. His own private fundraising campaign led to the creation of the Lipid Research Laboratory at Memorial, which he also directed until his retirement in 1989. He was a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which he helped bring to Worcester.
Career in medicine
Robinson engaged in research. Over the years, research funding from private and government funds, led to the development of a large research team with access to advanced lipid research equipment. Robinson recognized the role of cholesterol and diet in atherosclerotic heart disease and demonstrated that heparin prevents arterial clots. His research led to the identification of lipid-lowering effects of the female hormone estrogen and he performed the earliest studies of estrogen supplementation in men and post-menopausal women. Robinson also conducted research on strokes; his 20-year follow-up study of 1000 stroke patients is still the largest published research on the natural history of strokes.
Willard House and Clock Museum
Robinson, along with his wife Imogene, cofounded the Willard House and Clock Museum in Grafton, which he served as president and chairman of the trustees.
Death and legacy
Robinson died at home on November 11, 2010. The Roger W. Robinson Fund was created in his memory to support work in cardiovascular research, endocrinology, hematology and headache research and has helped purchase important laboratory equipment. An annual lecture series on Cardiovascular Disease continues.
| Year | Lecturer | Topic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1989 | Jay N Cohn, MD | New Concepts of the Pathophysiology, Treatment and Prognosis of Heart Failure |
| 2 | 1990 | Stephen E Epstein, MD | Angina with Normal Coronary Arteries: A Generalized Disorder of Smooth Muscle |
| 3 | 1991 | Eric J Topol, MD | Thrombolytic Therapy for Acute Myocardial Infarction |
| 4 | 1992 | Valentin Fuster, MD | Progression and Regression of Coronary Atherogenesis: Evolving Concepts |
| 5 | 1993 | Robert A O'Rourke, MD | Management of the Post MI Patient: When is Coronary Arteriography Really Indicated? |
| 6 | 1994 | Thomas W Smith, MD | Management of the Patient with Heart Failure: New Insights and Clinical Implications |
| 7 | 1995 | B Greg Brown, MD PhD | The Effects of Lipid Lowering Therapy on Coronary Atherosclerosis and Clinical Events |
| 8 | 1996 | Robert L Frye, MD | A Perspective of Coronary Revascularization |
| 9 | 1997 | Shahbudin H Rahimtoola,
MB FRCP MACP |
Hibernating Myocardium |
| 10 | 1998 | J Warren Harthorne, MD | Electrotherapy: Past, Present, and Future |
| 11 | 1999 | Roger M Mills, MD | Heart Failure and Transplantation Perspectives at the End of the Decade |
| 12 | 2000 | Anthony N DeMaria, MD | Three Dimension Echocardiography: Promises and Challenges |
| 13 | 2001 | Victor Dzau, MD | Gene and Cell-based Therapies for Cardiovascular Disease |
| 14 | 2002 | James J Ferguson III, MD | The Evolving Standard of Care for Acute Coronary Syndromes |
| 15 | 2003 | James E Muller, MD | Diagnosis and Treatment of Vulnerable Plaque |
| 16 | 2004 | Alfred F Parisi, MD | From Infection to Inflammation: Fifty Years of Cardiology |
| 17 | 2005 | Robert Vogel, MD | The Vascular Biology of Coronary Risk Factors |
| 18 | 2006 | Marc A Pfeffer, MD PhD | Cardiovascular Events in Cancer Trials and Cancer Events in Cardiovascular Trials |
| 19 | 2007 | Peter C Block, MD | Percutaneous Repair and Replacement for Valvular Heart Disease |
| 20 | 2008 | George Beller, MD | Diagnostic and Prognostic Applications of Multimodality Imaging in Coronary
Artery Disease |
| 21 | 2009 | William Gaasch, MD | Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Heart Failure |
| 22 | 2010 | Peter R Kowey, MD | New Therapies in Atrial Fibrillation |
| 23 | 2011 | Joseph Alpert, MD | Changing Demographics in the US and the World and Its Effects on Clinical Medicine |
| 24 | 2012-13 | Robert A Phillips, MD PhD | Hypertension and Hypertrophy: Impacting and Predicting Renal and CV
Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease |
| 25 | 2014-15 | Nikolaos Kakouros, MRCP PhD | Interventional Options for the Elderly with Cardiovascular disease |
References
- Engelberg, Hyman (1978). Heparin. New York: Basel. ISBN 3805528922.
- Likar, Ivan (1985). Atherosclerosis : cattle as a model for study in man. Vol. 12. New York: Basel. pp. 1–175. ISBN 3805540698. PMID 4094619.
{{cite book}}:|journal=ignored (help) - Higano, Norio (May 16, 1963). "Increased Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in Castrated Women — Two-Year Follow-up Studies". The New England Journal of Medicine. 268: 1123–1125. doi:10.1056/NEJM196305162682007. PMID 13954392.
- Robinson, Roger W (1956). "Effects of Estrogen Therapy on Hormonal Functions and Serum Lipids in Men with Coronary Atherosclerosis". Circulation. 14 (3): 365–372. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.14.3.365. PMID 13365047. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- Robinson, Roger W (1958). "Estrogen Replacement Therapy in women with coronary atherosclerosis". Annals of Internal Medicine. 48 (1): 95–101. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-48-1-95. PMID 13488218.
- Watkins, Elizabeth Siegel (2007). The Estrogen Elixir: A History of Hormone Replacement Therapy in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801894862.
- Robinson, Roger W (Nov 1957). "The Effects of Estrogens on Serum Lipids in Women". Archives of Internal Medicine. 100 (5): 739–43. doi:10.1001/archinte.1957.00260110055008. PMID 13468819.
- Robinson, Roger W (1996). The Willard House and Clock Museum and the Willard Family Clockmakers. Columbia: National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.
- "Obituary for Roger Robinson Dr". Roney Funeral Home. Retrieved September 4, 2018.