Rate My Professor Bridget Robinson

Professor Bridget A. Robinson is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, appointed on 11 July 2023. She holds the Mackenzie Chair in Cancer Medicine, endowed by the Mackenzie Charitable Foundation since 2010. A qualified medical oncologist (BMedSc, MD Otago 1987, FRACP), she serves as Clinical Director of the Mackenzie Cancer Research Group in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, University of Otago, Christchurch. Robinson joined the University staff in Christchurch in 1997, rising to full professor status. She practices as a Medical Oncologist at Christchurch Hospital and holds additional roles including Co-convenor of the professional development thread for 4th and 5th year medicine students, Chair of the Canterbury Comprehensive Cancer Centre, and Director of the Cancer Society Tissue Bank.

Her research specializations encompass translational cancer research, focusing on tumour biology, genetic risk factors for cancers such as breast and colorectal, the role of vitamin C (ascorbate) in tumour hypoxia and immunotherapy responses, and clinical trials to improve cancer treatments. Key publications include "Role of sodium-dependent vitamin C transporter-2 and ascorbate in regulating the hypoxic pathway in cultured glioblastoma cells" (Burgess et al., Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2025), "Blood vitamin C levels of patients receiving immunotherapy..." (Topham et al., Epigenomes, 2024), "Patients’ and carers’ priorities for cancer research in Aotearoa/New Zealand" (de Vries et al., PLoS ONE, 2023), and "Copy number variants as modifiers of breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers" (Hakkaart et al., Communications Biology, 2022). Robinson has received the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to medicine and the Gold Medal in Research from the University of Otago Christchurch in 2019. Her leadership has advanced cancer research through the Mackenzie group, established in 1998, contributing significantly to understanding cancer pathology and treatment innovations.