Robin Weiss elected to join the American Philosophical Society

26 July 2018

Congratulations to Professor Robin Weiss who has been elected to become a member of the American Philosophical Society (APS).

The APS is considered America’s oldest learned society and was founded with the purpose of ‘promoting useful knowledge’. The membership covers a wide range of disciplines, and past members include Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur and Albert Einstein.

When asked about his election, Professor Weiss said; '"I feel surprised and delighted to be elected to the American Society of Philosophy. This society was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to cover all branches of human knowledge and has less than 1,000 members, so naturally, there are few microbiologists among its members."​

Since the Society’s inception in 1743, only 5605 members have been elected, over 240 of whom have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Professor Weiss is one of only 161 elected members not based in the USA.

Professor Weiss is Professor of Viral Oncology at University College London. Following his undergraduate degree in zoology Professor Weiss went on to research population genetics in India before his PhD in virology. 

In 1984, his research contributed directly towards developing a diagnostic blood test for HIV, just one year after the virus was discovered. This test was designed to screen blood for the virus and was used to reduce infection with contaminated blood. In 1984, Professor Weiss made the major discovery that CD4 is the binding receptor for HIV.

Professor Weiss has been a member of the Microbiology Society since 1978. He was Microbiology Society President from 2006-2009 and was awarded the Marjory Stephenson Prize for exceptional contributions to the field in 2015.