Robert (Bob) Hancock is a bacteriologist and professor of microbiology in the department of microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia (U.B.C.) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is internationally renowned for his fundamental contributions to the study of antibiotic resistance of Gram-negative bacteria, particularly the antibiotic resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Hancock was born in Merton, Surrey, England. Following his undergraduate education he obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Adelaide in Australia in 1974. Postdoctoral training followed at the University of Tübingen (1975-1977) and at the University of California at Berkeley (1977-1978). In 1978, Hancock became an assistant professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at U.B.C. In 1983, he became an associate professor with tenure, and became an associate member of the department of Pediatrics at U.B.C. (which has continued to the present day). In 1986, he became...