Rob Townsend MBCHB, MSc, FRCP

Rob is currently a Consultant Medical Microbiologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He is also an honorary clinical lecturer for both Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield. He started his working life as a biomedical scientist in microbiology and had his first scientific publication in 1991. Rob went on to pass his BSc honours degree in Biomedical Sciences and subsequently obtained a distinction in his MSc in Pathological Sciences.

Rob successfully applied for medical school in 1995 and qualified in medicine in 2000, having done house jobs in medicine, surgery and infectious diseases. Rob was a SHO in infectious diseases before becoming a medical registrar in microbiology in 2002. In 2007 Rob was elevated to his current consultant role.

Rob’s main clinical interest area is orthopaedic infections, where he has initiated orthopaedic ward rounds and an arthroplasty MDT on a weekly basis. He also co-created a new bone joint research group at Hallam University, whose special interest is antibiotic implant coatings.

Rob gives educational lectures both nationally and internationally on orthopaedic infections. He is one of the main organisers of the annual Orthopaedic Infections meetings held in Sheffield and is currently on the national working party, responsible for the production of national guidelines for the management of orthopaedic infections.