Dr Robert Johnson trained in Medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, qualifying in 1967. Specialist training in anaesthesia and pain management was undertaken in Bristol. This included a one year secondment to the University of Virginia Pain Studies Clinic in Charlottesville, USA where his interest in herpes zoster (HZ) started. In 1975, he was appointed as a Consultant in Anaesthesia with Pain Management at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, UK. His clinical and research interest in HZ continued and he developed a specialist herpes zoster clinic for patients with zoster associated pain (ZAP). With his wife, a specialist research nurse, he undertook many studies mostly involved with prevention and management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). His research led to the award of the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the University of Bristol. He has 73 publications on HZ in peer reviewed specialist journals and 8 chapters in textbooks. His current research interests include prevention of PHN by administration of low-dose amitriptyline, commenced soon after HZ has been diagnosed. He is also involved in the analysis of detailed notes and illustrations for 515 HZ sufferers studied by Henry Head, a neurologist, between 1890 and 1907. He is currently the Hon. Senior Research Fellow, Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol, UK.