| Authorised form of name | Weiss; Robin Anthony (1940-2026); molecular biologist |
| Dates | 1940-2026 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of birth | 20 February 1940 |
| Place of death | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Date of death | 27 February 2026 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Funeral: Golders Green Crematorium (19 March 2026)
Memorial: Stephens House, 17 East End Road, London N3 3QE (19 March 2026) |
| Occupation | Molecular biologist |
| Research field | Oncology |
| Microbiology |
| Retroviruses |
| Cancer biology |
| Virology |
| Molecular Biology |
| Activity | Education: Abbotsholme School, Staffordshire; University College London (UCL) BSc (1961); PhD (1969)
Career: Following his studies he worked in India as a research assistant; completed his doctorate in the laboratory of Michael Abercrombie FRS (1969); Research Assistant to Prof H. Grüneberg, MRC Experimental Genetics Research Unit (1961-1963);Medical Research Council (MRC) PhD Scholarship, UCL (1963-1965); Visiting Research Fellow with Prof J Svoboda, Institute of Molecular Genetics, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague (1968-1969); Assistant Lecturer, later Lecturer, Dept of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, UCL (1965-1970); Eleanor Roosevelt International Cancer Fellow with Prof PK Vogt, Department of Microbiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle USA, and NIH Fellow, University of Southern California Medical School, Los Angeles, USA (1970-1972); Head of Laboratory of Viral Oncology, Imperial Cancer Research Fund (1972-1980); joined The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) (1980); Director of Research, ICR, Royal Marsden Hospital, London (1980-1989); Director of Research, ICR (1989-1998); Professor of Viral Oncology at University College London (1999); Emeritus Professor of Viral Oncology, University College London (UCL), Division of Infection & Immunity (2015-2026).
Memberships:
Member European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) 1977
Member Academia Europaea 1993
Foreign Associate Académie Royale de Médicine de Belgique 1996
Founding Fellow Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) UK 1998
Foreign Associate US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 2013
American Philosophical Society 2017
Awards/Medals:
Gustav Stern Award in Virology (New York), 1974
Queen’s Award for Industry (joint, for HIV diagnostics), 1987
Ambuj Nath Bose Prize, Royal College of Physicians (London), 1989
Beijerinck Prize, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2001
Ernst Chain International Prize, Imperial College 2007
Gregor Mendel Medal, Czech Academy of Sciences, 2008
Gertrude & Werner Henle Prize, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 2011
Courtauld Lecture, Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society, 2012
The Jenner Lecture, St George’s Medical School, London, 2014
Marjory Stephenson Prize & Lecture, Microbiology Society, 2015 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 15/05/1997 |
| Age at election | 57 |
| RSActivity | Lectures:
Leeuwenhoek 2001 |
| Relationships | Parents: Hans Weiss (1900-1980), businessman, and Stefanie Löwinsohn (1908-1964)
Siblings: Ernst (1932-2005); Marianne (1934-2024); Peter (1938-1997)
Spouse: (m. 1964) Margaret Rose D'Costa
Children: Helen Wiess, epidemiologist, and Rachel Weiss, founder of the Menopause Café movement. |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R76932
RCN 52161 |
| OtherInfo | Studied viruses linked to cancer and to HIV/AIDS. Using Rous sarcoma virus to probe the transformation of normal cells into malignancy, he discovered the transmission of retroviruses as genetic elements inherited by the host. He became increasingly interested in human viruses, their modes of transmission, and the risk factors involved their spread.
He developed ‘pseudotype’ retrovirus particles bearing unrelated envelope glycoproteins to identify cell surface receptors used by viruses, and how to prevent infection, especially by neutralising antibodies, most recently exploiting natural single-chain antibody derivatives from llamas. Pseudotypes based on viral vectors carrying reporter genes facilitate the identification of neutralising antibodies and other agents that block cell entry - without the need for a high containment laboratory. They are useful for studying immunity and candidate vaccines for highly pathogenic viruses such as HIV, Ebola and Coronaviruses.
Pioneered the identification of certain cancers as transmissible ‘cellular parasites’, showing that the canine transmissible venereal tumour is a single cell clone that has spread worldwide since its emergence ~10,000 years ago, and how it evades immune rejection. He writes on the history of virology and infectious diseases. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor Robin Weiss FMedSci FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/robin-weiss-12506/; last accessed: 27/05/2026]
Wikipedia, Robin Weiss, [URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Weiss; last accessed: 27/05/2026]
The Institute of Cancer Research, Remembering Professor Robin Weiss: a pioneer of viral oncology and former ICR Director, Isy Godfrey, 5 March 2026, [URL: https://www.icr.ac.uk/about-us/icr-news/detail/remembering-professor-robin-weiss--a-pioneer-of-viral-oncology-and-former-icr-director; last accessed: 27/05/2026]
Microbiology Society, News, 31 March 2026, Professor Robin Weiss: a tribute, [URL: https://microbiologysociety.org/resource/professor-robin-weiss-a-tribute.html; last accessed: 27/05/2026] |
| Code | NA4055 |