Nephrology Congress 2027

Dr. Robin Felder is currently employed at The University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, VA where he serves as a Professor of Pathology and Associate Director of laboratory medicine. He is a renowned biochemist and innovator with a distinguished career spanning five decades. He has published over 300 papers, reviews, and book chapters, co-edited three textbooks on Medical Automation, and holds more than 29 patents. Dr. Felder has founded nine biotech companies across diverse fields, including engineering, bioengineering, electrical engineering, diagnostic medicine, biochemistry, information technology, and eldercare. He also established two non-profit educational organizations, Medical Automation.org and the Association for Laboratory Automation to address critical gaps in current knowledge.

Dr. Felder earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Georgetown University in Washington DC while serving as an Instructor of Pediatrics and Associate Director the Neonatal Laboratory, and completed his postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Mental Health.

Dr. Felder’s contributions to science and technology have earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the Engelberger Robotics Award (also called the Nobel Prize for Robotics), UVA’s Innovator of the Year, and the Annual Research Awards from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and the National Academy for Clinical Biochemistry. His achievements were further recognized with his recent induction into the National Academy of Inventors.

Widely regarded as a leading expert on hypertension and the salt sensitivity of blood pressure, Dr. Felder is pioneering the application of personalized medicine to diagnose and treat chronic diseases. His ability to unite various disciplines around the common goals of innovation and collaboration is exemplified by his founding of the Medical Automation Research Center (MARC) at UVA. MARC developed gnovel technologies and processes that enhanced safety, quality, and efficiency in medicine while significantly reducing costs. At its peak, MARC employed 36 individuals, managed an annual budget of $2.5 million, and launched a new company every nine months. Its clients included numerous universities, industries, and government agencies worldwide.

Dr. Felder has twice testified before Congress and, in 2017, was invited by Secretary David J. Shulkin, Head of Veterans Affairs, to join a select panel of experts in medical automation and robotics. This panel played a crucial role in the USA’s Veterans Administration’s largest-ever transformation and modernization effort.