Russell S. Kirby, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor and Marrell Endowed Chair in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida. He has 40 years of experience in public health practice, academic medicine and health statistics in maternal and child health. A perinatal and pediatric epidemiologist trained in the social sciences, Dr. Kirby's research focuses on the public health implications of health policies and programs, with special reference to perinatal and maternal/child health; population health informatics; and perinatal/pediatric studies in genetics, birth defects, and developmental disabilities, clinical research, study design and analysis. Dr. Kirby is a Fellow and recently served as President of the American College of Epidemiology. He has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed articles in the field of maternal and child health, serves in editor roles for several peer-reviewed journals, and co-edited the National Birth Defects Prevention Network annual report from 2002-2022. Over the course of his career, Dr. Kirby has received numerous awards, including the National MCH Epidemiology Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Godfrey P. Oakley, Jr. Award for significant contributions to the field of birth defects. In 2009, 2016 and 2023 he received the Outstanding Research Achievement Award from USF Office of Research & Innovation, and in 2013 was named Outstanding Professor of the Year by students in the USF College of Public Health. In June 2015 Dr. Kirby received the Birth Defects Research Part A Distinguished Scholar Award from the Teratology Society and in 2018 he received the Title V Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 2020, Dr. Kirby received the President's Award from the Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research, and the Paula Ransom National Volunteer Partner Award from the national March of Dimes Foundation. In 2023, the National Birth Defects Prevention Network initiated the Russell S. Kirby Mentoring Award, with Dr. Kirby as its first recipient. Dr. Kirby received his undergraduate degree (with honors) from the University of Wisconsin. He went on to complete an M.S. and Ph.D. in human geography at the University of Wisconsin. He also holds an M.S. in Preventive Medicine-Epidemiology from the University of Wisconsin.