Robert M. Kaplan was born in San Diego, California, on October 26, 1947. He is professor and chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is a past president of several organizations, including the American Psychological Association Division of Health Psychology, Section J of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Pacific), the International Society for Quality of Life Research, and the Society for Behavioral Medicine. He is chair of the Behavioral Science Council of the American Thoracic Society and president of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research. Dr. Kaplan is the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, associate editor of the American Psychologist, and consulting editor of four other academic journals. Selected additional honors include APA Division of Health Psychology Annual Award for Outstanding Scientific Contribution (for a junior scholar in 1987 and for a senior scholar in 2001); Distinguished Research Lecturer (1988) and Health Net Distinguished Lecturer (1991); University of California 125 Anniversary Award for Most Distinguished Alumnus, University of California, Riverside; American Psychological Association Distinguished Lecturer; and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Association of Medical School Psychologists.