Professor Sir Robert Lechler
Emeritus Professor
Biography
Robert Lechler was Senior Vice President/Provost (Health) at King's College London, his distinguished career in academic medicine began in 1979 in the Department of Immunology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London, as a Medical Research Council Training Fellow. He then became Renal Registrar in 1982, and subsequently Senior Renal Registrar in 1983, at the Professorial Medical Unit at Hammersmith Hospital.
Following a Wellcome Trust Travelling Fellowship at the Laboratory of Immunology, NIH, Bethesda, USA, in 1984, Robert was appointed Senior Lecturer in Immunology / Honorary Consultant in Medicine in 1986, Reader in Immunology in 1989 and Professor of Molecular Immunology in 1992, at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School. Since 1986, Robert has been an Honorary Consultant in Medicine at Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, and Professor and Director of Immunology in the Division of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, at Imperial College London since 1994. In 1995 he became the Chief of Immunology Services at Hammersmith Hospital NHS Trust, in 2001 he was made the Dean of the Hammersmith Campus, and in 2003 Head of the Division of Medicine of Imperial College London’s Faculty of Medicine.
Robert became Dean of King’s College School of Medicine in 2004. The following year he succeeded Professor Sir Graeme Catto as Vice-Principal (Health) in charge of the five Health Schools of King’s. Robert was also Deputy Chair of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust from 2004-2009. He was appointed as Executive Director of King’s Health Partners in June 2009. In 2012 Robert was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Robert was also the former Executive Director of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre - our accredited Academic Health Science Centre. This is a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.
Robert’s research interests revolve around transplantation tolerance; the central aim of his research is to persuade the immune system to “tolerate” the foreign organ while retaining full capability to fight off infections and cancer. Robert is Chair of the Clinical Trials Expert Advisory Group, as well as a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Medical Schools Council.
Robert also heads a leadership giving fund, the Medical Circle, which enables alumni and friends of the College to support the School of Medicine across all the hospital sites at Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’.
News
EPSRC digital health policy day comes to LIHE
The latest EPSRC policy day on the potential of digital health has been hosted by the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering.
Professor Richard Trembath appointed Senior Vice President and Provost (Health)
Professor Richard Trembath has been appointed as Senior Vice President and Provost (Health) and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners Academic Health...
The Wolfson Foundation grant £1M to ground-breaking new centre
The Wolfson Foundation has confirmed a major grant of £1M to King’s College London to create an exceptional centre of care and research for children and young...
Professor Lucy Chappell elected as Fellow to Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Lucy Chappell, NIHR Research Professor in Obstetrics, based in the Department of Women and Children’s Health, within the School of Life Course...
Two IoPPN Professors elected as new Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Oscar Marín and Professor Oliver Howes from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s have been elected to the prestigious...
King's Health Partners re-designated as Academic Health Sciences Centre
Over the next five years, King's Health Partners' work will focus on earlier detection, intervention and targeted prevention of disease.
King's commits £500k in funding for new and immediate Coronavirus research
King’s College London has launched a rapid-response funding call which has made £500,000 available to enable its research community to tackle the Coronavirus
Building sustainable healthcare systems
Innovators and entrepreneurs around the world are challenging what is possible in global health.
Dentistry at King's ranked 1st in the world
Dentistry at King’s College London has been ranked first in the world in the 2020 QS World University Rankings by subject, released today.
Events
'Are scientists our new superheroes?' with Professor Michael Levitt
In an age of disinformation and disregard of expert opinion, did the COVID-19 pandemic bring us back around to place greater weight in the opinions and advice...
Please note: this event has passed.
KCLA Centenary Conversations: Understanding and treating Covid-19
Join KCLA for their Centenary series of webinars.
Please note: this event has passed.
King's Experts Series: An Update from King's Leadership
Join King's President & Principal, Professor Edward Byrne AC for the official launch of our King's Experts Series, a new series of webinars exclusively for...
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
King's volunteers support the NHS
Staff and students from King’s health faculties have been supporting the NHS clinical response to the pandemic at its most critical time.
News
EPSRC digital health policy day comes to LIHE
The latest EPSRC policy day on the potential of digital health has been hosted by the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering.
Professor Richard Trembath appointed Senior Vice President and Provost (Health)
Professor Richard Trembath has been appointed as Senior Vice President and Provost (Health) and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners Academic Health...
The Wolfson Foundation grant £1M to ground-breaking new centre
The Wolfson Foundation has confirmed a major grant of £1M to King’s College London to create an exceptional centre of care and research for children and young...
Professor Lucy Chappell elected as Fellow to Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Lucy Chappell, NIHR Research Professor in Obstetrics, based in the Department of Women and Children’s Health, within the School of Life Course...
Two IoPPN Professors elected as new Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Oscar Marín and Professor Oliver Howes from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s have been elected to the prestigious...
King's Health Partners re-designated as Academic Health Sciences Centre
Over the next five years, King's Health Partners' work will focus on earlier detection, intervention and targeted prevention of disease.
King's commits £500k in funding for new and immediate Coronavirus research
King’s College London has launched a rapid-response funding call which has made £500,000 available to enable its research community to tackle the Coronavirus
Building sustainable healthcare systems
Innovators and entrepreneurs around the world are challenging what is possible in global health.
Dentistry at King's ranked 1st in the world
Dentistry at King’s College London has been ranked first in the world in the 2020 QS World University Rankings by subject, released today.
Events
'Are scientists our new superheroes?' with Professor Michael Levitt
In an age of disinformation and disregard of expert opinion, did the COVID-19 pandemic bring us back around to place greater weight in the opinions and advice...
Please note: this event has passed.
KCLA Centenary Conversations: Understanding and treating Covid-19
Join KCLA for their Centenary series of webinars.
Please note: this event has passed.
King's Experts Series: An Update from King's Leadership
Join King's President & Principal, Professor Edward Byrne AC for the official launch of our King's Experts Series, a new series of webinars exclusively for...
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
King's volunteers support the NHS
Staff and students from King’s health faculties have been supporting the NHS clinical response to the pandemic at its most critical time.