Robin Emsley obtained his medical degree at the University of Cape Town in 1974, and his psychiatry degree with distinctions at the University of Stellenbosch in 1981. He was awarded a Doctorate in Medicine in 1987, for studies on the neuro-endocrinology of schizophrenia and alcohol dependence and obtained the degree Doctor of Science in 2007 for studies in the psychopathology, neurobiology and psychopharmacology of schizophrenia. He serves on national and international professional and scientific committees and advisory boards, and is the recipient of national and international research grants and awards. He is on the editorial board of several international journals, including Schizophrenia Research, Early Intervention in Psychiatry, Psychiatry 2009, Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, the Open Psychiatry Journal, the Open Clinical Trials Journal, the Open Neuropsychopharmacology Journal, Mind & Brain – The Journal of Psychiatry, the African Journal of Psychiatry and is the past editor of the South African Journal of Psychiatry. He has published 239 scientific publications (articles, letters, chapters, books). His main area of interest is in the psychopharmacology of schizophrenia and his group has published extensively in this field.