Robert Blumenthal

Biography

Dr. Robert Blumenthal obtained his M.Sc. at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the Weizmann Institute, Israel studying mechanisms of active transport across membranes. Following postdoctoral work at the Institute Pasteur and at Columbia University studying molecular mechanisms of membrane excitability in neurons, he came to the NIH and was ultimately recruited by the NCI. In 1978 he was tenured and in 1980 he became chief of the Section on Membrane Structure and Function. In 2005 he was appointed director of the newly established Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program. Dr. Blumenthal is the 2008 recipient of the NIH Merit Award in recognition of his vision and leadership in establishing the CCR Nanobiology Program, which promotes multidisciplinary research in cancer, AIDS, and viral diseases. Dr. Blumenthal also received the NCI Directors' 2008 Mentor of Merit award. Dr. Blumenthal has worked in a wide range of areas in membrane biophysics, which includes membrane fusion, membrane transport, membrane domains, membrane channels, cell surface receptors, immune cytotoxic mechanisms, and use of liposomes for delivery of drugs and genes into cells. Dr. Blumenthal's current interest is in viral entry, pathogenesis and vaccines; multifunctional nanoparticles for triggered and targeted delivery of therapeutics; and photo-induced chemical reactions in membranes.

Research Interest

1) Membrane biophysics, 2) viral fusion, 3) liposomes, 4) fluorescence, 5) membrane modeling, 6) HIV entry into cells, 7) Biomedical Engineering and Biophysics, 8) Cell Biology, 9) Chemical Biology, 10) Structural Biology, 11) Virology.