Robert Darling, MD, is the Chief Medical Officer of Patronus Medical and co-founder and member of Patronus Holdings. In 1996, Dr. Darling became the first board-certified emergency medicine physician to serve the President of the United States as White House Physician.

He served President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, their families, and other presidential support units at the White House, Camp David, classified emergency relocation facilities, and aboard executive aircraft including Air Force One. He also provided primary care and protective medical support services in more than 40 countries with no Western-type backup medical care. Dr. Darling played a key role in developing Top Secret emergency contingency plans bearing constitutional impact, countering the greatest threats to the continuity of the presidency.

After completing his tour as White House Physician, Dr. Darling served as emergency physician, flight surgeon, and Director of the Aeromedical Isolation Team for the Operational Medicine Division of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). In the latter role, he specialized in mitigating the medical consequences of biological weapons and bioterrorism. Dr. Darling has also served as the Director of the Navy Medicine Office of Homeland Security, where he guided Navy Medicine in preparing for the medical and public health consequences of natural and man-made disasters in hospitals and clinics throughout the world.

After Capt. Darling retired from the Navy in 2006, he was named Director of the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, where he led health care reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, prepared for pandemic influenza outbreaks, conducted HIV/AIDS educational initiatives in the Caribbean and South America, and prepared for and responded to other humanitarian disasters worldwide.

Dr. Darling holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with honors from Adelphi University and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). He completed his transitional medical internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and basic flight training at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute in Pensacola, Fl. He served as flight surgeon aboard the aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT and was second seat qualified in both the F-14A and A-6E tactical jets. He has been published in numerous professional journals and has lectured around the world.