The therapeutic potential of CD39: interview with Dr Simon Robson

Abstract

Dr Simon C Robson (Harvard University) was interviewed by Emma Quigley (Commissioning Editor, Expert Opinion) on 14th August 2006.Born in the UK, Dr Simon Robson obtained his MB, ChB from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1978 and his PhD in Immunology in 1989. He worked in both South Africa and the UK before moving to the USA in 1994. Now an Associate Professor in Medicine at Harvard University, Dr Robson is conducting research dealing with the vascular biology of transplantation and specifically focussing on how endothelial and immune cell purinergic signalling is modulated by ecto-nucleotidases of the CD39 family (ecto-enzymes that hydrolyse extracellular nucleotides to generate nucleosides). In several studies funded by the NIH, ROTRF and other agencies, Dr Robson has been researching genomics, proteomics and the biology of CD39 in models of inflammation and immunity. Dr Robson has published > 200 papers and is on the Editorial Boards of many well-respected journals, including Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets.