Dr. Phyllis R Robinson

About

I obtained a BA from Wellesley College and a Ph.D from University of WI-Madison. I was a post doctoral fellow at Brandeis University and joined the faculty at UMBC in 1992. In addition to my research program, I am known for my efforts to increase the participation of women and minorities in science at UMBC. She co-founded the Women in Science and Engineering group at UMBC and was a Co-PI on the UMBC NSF ADVANCE grant and currently co-chairs the University executive committee on Gender and Diversity in Science, technology, engineering and math. I am also the Director of the U-RISE NIH training program.

Research interests

The aim of my research is to understand how information in the environment is transformed into an appropriate biological signal. I study this problem of signal transduction in photoreceptors for they are accessible to a variety of techniques, providing a system in which it is possible to interface the approaches of biochemistry, molecular biology and physiology. My research has resulted in 50 peer-reviewed publications and several book chapters.13PhD students have graduated from my laboratory with 3 current PhD students. I have mentored over 50 undergraduates.

Teaching interests

I am interested in Vision Science, Signal Transduction and Neurobiology.

Education

  • Ph D, NeuroscienceUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison (1981)
  • AB, BiologyWellesley College (1973)