About Mr Robert Pickard
Robert Pickard MD FRCS (Urol)
Professor of Urology, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, UK
Honorary Consultant Urologist, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Mr Pickard studied medicine in London qualifying in 1984 and then did basic surgical training passing the FRCS exam in 1989. Early on he developed an enthusiasm for urology and was fortunate to be trained in the specialty at the Department of Urology at Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, where he benefitted from working with a number of expert senior urologists and gained wide experience in treating patients with general and specialist urological problems. He also completed two years of research into the mechanism of penile erection and the causes of impotence, which lead to his MD in 1995.
Mr Pickard was appointed as a consultant to Freeman Hospital in 1996 and for the next seven years worked full-time for the National Health Service; increasingly specialising in lower urinary tract reconstruction, including helping people with painful bladder problems. He then became more involved in research which led me to move to Newcastle University in 2004 where he was appointed Professor in 2009. His research programme links laboratory studies with clinical research to help drive direct benefit to patients. A key part of this is research into small molecules called anti-microbial peptides which humans produce to ward off infections and other external dangers. This has led for example, into greater understanding of why some people with urinary diversions get bad infections and some do not. We hope our laboratory studies will eventually allow development of more effective treatment for chronic troublesome conditions such as urinary infections and painful bladder syndrome.
