Professor Atkinson received a B.Sc. from King's College London, UK (biophysics) in 1986 and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, UK (molecular biology) in 1990. Following postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in cell biology, he joined the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology in 1994, with a joint appointment in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. From 2004-2010 he directed the Medical Biophysics graduate program. He accepted the position of chair and professor in the Department of Biology in the IUPUI School of Science in 2010. His research concerns the fundamental cellular mechanisms involved in acute kidney injury, particularly the signaling pathways controlling cell polarity and cytoskeletal organization using a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches. His research emphasizes the application of fluorescence microscopy. His teaching has been recognized with the Trustees Teaching Award. He has served as president of the IUPUI and School of Medicine faculty. He has been active on national committees of the American Society for Cell Biology and the American Society of Nephrology.