Rate My Professor Sam Robinson

Dr Sam Robinson is a researcher at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Monash University. His research expertise is in the discovery of new plant and animal toxins and investigation of their structure, function and potential for biomedical applications. He is an expert on plants and animals that sting, and the biology, chemistry, pharmacology and pathophysiology underlying those stings. His research provides new understanding on the mechanisms of chemical defence and predation used by animals and plants, and the new toxins discovered are being used as tools for improving understanding of the human body and designing new and better treatments for certain diseases such as diabetes and chronic pain. His research is multidisciplinary, covering a range of scientific fields including pharmacology, neuroscience, physiology, organismal biology, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, proteomics and structural biology.

Dr Robinson has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including articles in Science, Nature Communications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Pain. Notable works include studies on ant venoms containing vertebrate-selective pain-causing sodium channel toxins (2023), convergent evolution of pain-inducing defensive venom components in spitting cobras (2021), and neurotoxic peptides from the venom of the giant Australian stinging tree (2020). He is available for supervision and serves as a media expert in his fields of research.