Russell D. Fernald is professor of neuroscience, biology and the Benjamin Scott Crocker Professor of Human Biology at Stanford University. He came to Stanford in 1991 from the University of Oregon where he was a founding member and director of the Institute for Neuroscience. His research is focused on how social behavior influences the brain.

In 1999, Fernald received the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, the highest honor bestowed on researchers by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, for his distinguished contribution to neurological science. In 2003, Fernald was named a fellow in the American Association of Arts and Sciences for advancing "science or applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished." In February of 2004, he received the prestigious Rank Prize, which honors research that has advanced scientific knowledge in the realm of vision or optoelectronics, for work that he did with collaborators on understanding how vertebrate lenses function.

Fernald was also awarded the Bing Fellowship (1996-1999) for innovative contributions to undergraduate education. And in 1998 he won the Allen V. Cox medal for fostering undergraduates' interest in research because he was "an inspiration who engages neophyte scientists in meaningful research and provides remarkable mentorship." In 2000, he was awarded the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for distinctive contribution to undergraduate education because he led the Human Biology Program "with infectious enthusiasm, creativity and high standards" and was responsible for "inspiring undergraduates to pursue research and careers in neuroscience and for expanding offerings in service learning for students interested in studying community health issues."

In 2003, Professor Fernald was named the Mimi and Peter Haas University Fellow in Undergraduate Education because of his important role in the Human Biology Program, mentoring of undergraduate research, contributions to service-learning programs at the Haas Center for Public Service and participation in Sophomore College and Sophomore Seminars.