Biography

Tadeusz Robak, MD, PhD, is Professor of Hematology at the Medical University of Lodz and since 1997 has been Head of the Department of Hematology at the Medical University and Copernicus Memorial Hospital in Lodz. Professor Robak studied medicine at the Medical University of Lodz and was approved as haematologist in 1985 and as clinical pharmacologist in 1987. He undertook further postgraduate training in 1983–1984 at Hammersmith Hospital and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, UK. In 1996 Professor Robak became county consultant haematologist for the Lodz region, and in 1996–2002 he was vice-rector and rector of the Medical University of Lodz. Professor Robak is Chair of the chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) subgroup of the Polish Adult Leukemia Study Group and a member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), European Hematology Association (EHA), European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), and Polish Society of Hematology. He has written more than 500 journal articles, most published in well-regarded peer-reviewed journals, and numerous abstracts and books or book chapters. His special interests are in chronic and acute leukemias and lymphoma, with particular emphasis on the use of purine analogues, targeted drugs  and monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of these diseases. Professor Robak was principal investigator of the Polish multi-centre phase 3 trials of cladribine in CLL and hairy cell leukaemia and, recently, of the large international REACH trial in relapsed/refractory CLL. He is   reviewer for numerous journals, including Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Treatment Reviews, Blood, Leukemia, Leukaemia and Lymphoma, Lancet, Lancet Oncology and others.  Professor Robak has been selected by the World Scientists Forum of the International Research Promotion Council (IRPC) for the “Eminent Scientist of the Year 2010” award in haematology-oncology.