Phyllis Robinson Named Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Chair

Wed, 23 Jan 2019 10:28:00 -0500

Dear Members of the CNMS Community,

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Phyllis Robinson, professor of biological sciences, for being named the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Chair in the Department of Biological Sciences. This three-year appointment honors Dr. Robinson for her exceptional contributions to her research field, commitment to addressing gender equity issues at UMBC, and dedication to mentoring students and faculty at all levels.

Dr. Robinson is an international leader in the field of vision science, and her work on signal transduction in photoreceptors incorporates techniques from biochemistry, molecular biology, and physiology. She has published dozens of peer-reviewed papers, presented her work all over the world, and garnered millions of dollars of support for her research program from sources such as the NIH.

Dr. Robinson is also a tireless advocate for women and other minorities in STEM. She co-founded the university’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) group and served as a co-PI on the UMBC NSF ADVANCE Grant, which is nationally recognized as an exemplary model for institutional transformation programs. Robinson was honored by the UMBC President’s Commission on Women in 2012 and recently received the 2018 Marilyn E. Demorest Faculty Advancement Award for her advocacy work at UMBC.

Dr. Robinson continues to be a dedicated mentor to undergraduate and graduate students from all backgrounds. She succeeded Dr. Lasse Lindahl as the program director of UMBC’s NIH-funded Maximizing Access to Research Careers Program, a preeminent undergraduate scholars’ program with over 100 UMBC alumni who have earned Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degrees. A former graduate program director, Dr. Robinson was recognized for excellence in mentoring by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents in 2002 and by the Leadership Alliance in 2006.

Prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences in 1992, Dr. Robinson did postdoctoral work at Brandeis University and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in biology from Wellesley College.

Over the past 26 years, the UMBC community has benefitted from Dr. Robinson’s many gifts that include her passion for research, her talent for mentoring, and her compassion for others. She is eminently qualified for the honor of being a Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Chair.

Dean William R. LaCourse