He first came to the NIH in 1970 as the first Clinical Director at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In 1974 he joined the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bureau of Biologics (what the Division of Biologics Standards was called when it was first administratively transferred to the FDA). Dr. Robbins was the director of the Division of Bacterial Products until 1984, when he retuned to NICHD, establishing the Laboratory of Developmental and Molecular Immunity to explore methods for developing vaccines against Hib and other encapsulated bacteria. In subsequent years, Drs. Robbins, Schneerson, and their colleagues developed a vaccine for pertussis and worked on conjugate vaccines against typhoid fever, Staphylococcus aureus, and other bacterial diseases. Dr. Robbins retired from NICHD in 2012.
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Dr. Robbins was the recipient of numerous awards during his long career (he was still actively working in his 70s), including the prestigious Lasker Award Winner in 1996 for the vaccine for preventing meningitis in children. Together with his colleague, Dr. Rachel Schneerson, they developed the polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine for Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), which can cause meningitis in children. The Lasker Award is bestowed annually to those who have made major contributions to medical science.
