Wendye Robbins is a former assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care at the University of California, San Francisco. Trained at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Robbins is board certified in anesthesiology with added qualifications in pain. Her primary interests are in the mechanisms of pain and its intervention. A frequent lecturer to medical and other groups interested in the field, Robbins is actively involved in patient care and education. She has published several articles in pain related journals.

Robbins has also been instrumental in developing a pain cream in which high-dose capsaicin, the compound that makes chili peppers hot, is the active ingredient. The technology has been licensed to a company called NeurogesX for clinical and regulatory development. Robbins is currently working with the company to supervise development of the capsaicin therapy. Safety and toxicity tests are underway now, and the company hopes to have preliminary meetings with the FDA in the spring of