Roger W. Robinson

Roger W. Robinson (July 22, 1909 – November 11, 2010) was an American cardiologist who served as chief of cardiology and chief of medicine at Memorial Hospital, Worcester, MA. He was the director of the Lipid Research Laboratory and served as a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is considered a pioneer in the field of lipid and atherosclerosis research.

Early life and career Robinson was born in Buffalo, NY on July 22, 1909, to William W. and Anna (Hoover) Robinson. He graduated Northwestern University Medical School (Chicago) in 1935 and completed his post graduate training in medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now Brigham and Women’s hospital) in Boston, MA. He joined Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA in 1939 and served there in various roles over the ensuing 50 years. He served as an Army physician during World War II, as chief of cardiology and subsequently as chief of medicine at UMass Memorial Medical Center. His own private fundraising campaign led to the creation of the Lipid Research Laboratory at Memorial, which he also directed until his retirement in 1989. He was a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which he helped bring to Worcester.

Career in medicine Robinson engaged in research. Over the years, research funding from private and government funds, led to the development of a large research team with access to advanced lipid research equipment. Robinson recognized the role of cholesterol and diet in atherosclerotic heart disease and demonstrated that heparin prevents arterial clots. His research led to the identification of lipid-lowering effects of the female hormone estrogen and he performed the earliest studies of estrogen supplementation in men and post-menopausal women. Robinson also conducted research on strokes; his 20-year follow-up study of 1000 stroke patients is still the largest published research on the natural history of strokes.

Willard House and Clock Museum Robinson, along with his wife Imogene, cofounded the Willard House and Clock Museum in Grafton, which he served as president and chairman of the trustees.

Death and legacy Robinson died at home on November 11, 2010. The Roger W. Robinson Fund was created in his memory to support work in cardiovascular research, endocrinology, hematology and headache research and has helped purchase important laboratory equipment. An annual lecture series on Cardiovascular Disease continues.