ROBERT L. POST

1920 - 2021

POST ROBERT L., M.D. Nov. 4, 1920 - Jan. 26, 2021 Professor Robert Lickely Post, Robin to all who knew him, passed away on January 26, 2021 at age 100. Robin was born in Philadelphia in 1920, earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard College, and then was awarded an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in 1945. Following an internship in Hartford CT, he joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania as an Instructor in Physiology. In 1948, he became a faculty member at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he rose through the academic ranks and became Professor of Physiology in 1966. He remained at Vanderbilt until his retirement in 1991. He and his wife Elizabeth, an attorney and lecturer in business law, also at Vanderbilt from 1957 - 1984, subsequently returned to Philadelphia and Robin once again joined the Department of Physiology in the Perelman School of Medicine as a Visiting Professor. He and Elizabeth, who pre-deceased him in 2015, became active members of the Haverford Friends Meeting and resided at the The Quadrangle retirement community. Dr. Post had a renowned and highly influential scientific career. In 1957, he first reported on the movements of sodium and potassium ions across the plasma membrane of human red blood cells. He spent the remainder of his distinguished career investigating how the protein responsible for maintaining the cellular composition of these ions carries out this active transport. Dr. Post won the prestigious Kenneth S. Cole Award from the Biophysical Society in 1983. His work expanded the research of noble laurate Jens Christian Skou who famously wished he could share the prize with Robin to elucidate his key contributions. Robin Post was a widely respected inspiration to those familiar with the man and his work. He was a patient and logical thinker, a thoughtful adviser, and a kind and gentle colleague. The fields of physiology and membrane biology have lost a pioneer who laid much of the groundwork for current understanding of the way cells maintain their ionic composition through the action of proteins called ion pumps. To this day, his many ground-breaking studies are widely cited in scientific literature. His seminal contributions live on and his passing is a great loss to all who knew him and valued his collegiality. Robin was predeceased by his parents, brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, a niece and nephew. He is survived by three nieces, one nephew, and their spouses and children. If desired, memorial donations may be made to Friends School Haverford, 851 N. Buck Lane, Haverford PA 19041, www.friendshaverford.org, or Haverford Friends Meeting, 855 N. Buck La., Haverford PA 19041, www.https://fgcquaker.org/cloud/haverford-friends-meeting.