Robert qualified with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Physiology at University College London where he later graduated in medicine. He underwent postgraduate training in medicine at University College, The Royal Brompton Hospital and The Whittington Hospitals in London, before becoming a British Heart Foundation Junior Research Fellow at The Royal Brompton Hospital where his medical thesis (MD) was accepted in 1980. His specialist training in cardiology was at The London Chest Hospital as a registrar and at The Royal Free and Harefield Hospitals as a Senior Registrar. He became a consultant in 1987 and joined the Consultant staff of The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in 1995.

Robert became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1977 and a Fellow in 1994. He is also a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and The American College of Cardiology. In December 2025 he was awarded an inaugural Fellowship of the British Cardiovascular Society in recognition of his leadership, commitment and lasting impact in the field over many years.

In addition to being a Past President of the Section of Cardiology of the Royal Society of Medicine he is an Honorary Associate Professor at University College London and a member of the Member Secretary of State for Transport's Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Disorders of the Cardiovascular System. He

He sees and investigates patients across the full range of heart disease and is often asked to provide a second opinion in complex cases. He stives to put patients at their ease and to give them sufficient time to explain their symptoms. Robert also focuses on medical education and medico-legal work.