Robert is Vice-President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Flinders University. He was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and has held executive leadership, education, and research roles at Stanford University, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, University of Adelaide, Australian National University, and University of Melbourne. He has been a member of the ARC College of Experts, National Health and Medical Research Council Grant Review Panels, and the Human Frontier Science Program Grant Review Panel.