Robin Weiss, the British molecular biologist and influential scientist in virology and cancer biology, died on February 27, 2026, aged 86.
His research focused on retroviruses, and he was noted for important discoveries related to HIV. Weiss was a Fellow of the Royal Society and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
In 2001, he received the M. W. Beijerinck Prize for Virology for his work on retroviruses, and in 2007 he was awarded the Ernst Chain Prize for pioneering understanding of HIV and AIDS. He was Emeritus Professor of Viral Oncology at University College London, a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Cancer until 2005.
Robert Anthony “Robin” Weiss, FMedSci, FRS (20 February 1940 – 27 February 2026) was a British molecular biologist, and an influential scientist in virology and cancer biology. His research was focused on retroviruses and he was noted for important discoveries related to HIV. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 2001 he was awarded the M. W. Beijerinck Prize for Virology for his work on retroviruses. In 2007 he was awarded the Ernst Chain Prize for pioneering “our understanding of HIV and AIDS”. He was Emeritus Professor of Viral Oncology at University College London and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. He was also editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Cancer until 2005.