Selected Bios

Keith A. Robinson, PhD, FACC, FAHA
SJRI Director of Preclinical Sciences

Keith A. Robinson, PhD is Director of Preclinical Sciences at the Saint Joseph’s Research Institute (SJRI). Dr. Robinson currently directs a number of preclinical studies aimed at advancing the scientific knowledge related to, and treatment of, cardiovascular disease. In particular, his interests lie in the development of new biologic and medical device approaches to treat ischemic heart disease and heart failure.

Raised in Atlanta, GA, Dr. Robinson received a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Carolina University in 1982. He went on to receive a Masters of Arts in Education from Western Carolina in 1983 (magna cum laude), and was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Exercise Physiology from Florida State University in 1987 (cum laude). He served a postdoctoral fellowship in the Emory University School of Medicine from 1986 through 1990 where he was mentored by Drs. Spencer King and Gary Roubin in Cardiology and Drs. Michael Gravanis and Robert Siegel in Pathology. He was Assistant Professor there in the same Division from 1991 through 1998 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1999. Dr. Robinson currently holds an adjunct research faculty position at the Medical College of Georgia where he is Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in Cardiology.

Dr. Robinson is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the American Heart Association in the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. He has published 9 book chapters and over 80 abstracts, which have been presented at national and international scientific and medical conferences. He has also published 67 peer-reviewed papers including in such prestigious medical journals as Circulation and Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is a frequent manuscript reviewer for both journals as well as others and is on the Editorial Board of JACC. He is the recipient of an R01 Research Project Award and an R21 Exploratory Research Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Bioengineering Consortium of the NIH and during his career has secured over $8 million in sponsored research funding from government, private agency, and corporate sources. He has served as a grant funding reviewer for several funding agencies including current status as a grant reviewer for the NIH.

Dr. Robinson has been integrally involved with a number of important advances in cardiovascular medicine including intracoronary stents, intravascular brachytherapy devices, and drug-eluting stents. He has also made seminal contributions to the understanding of vascular biology in relation to atherosclerosis pathophysiology as well as cardiovascular response to medical interventions. More recently, his interests have extended into cardiac tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (he is a co-author on a pending patent in cellular therapy) where his insight and acumen have helped provide novel and promising approaches towards the development of new devices and therapies in cardiac surgery and the treatment of heart failure. Read More