Biography

Robert S. Byrd, M.D., M.P.H.

Robert S. Byrd, UC Davis School of Medicine associate professor, is section chief of general pediatrics at UC Davis Children's Hospital and director of pediatric outpatient services. He is also the principal investigator on the Autism Epidemiology Study commissioned by the State of California in 1999.

Byrd's responsibilities include administration of the clinical and research activities of the general pediatrics section, establishing a general pediatric research unit, directing patient care in outpatient and inpatient settings, guiding medical students and residents in clinical settings and delivering medical student and resident lectures. Byrd's research focuses on early literacy, school readiness and school performance. His research in the area of delayed school entry has been published in the journal Pediatrics.

Prior to joining UC Davis in 1998, Byrd served as an epidemic intelligence service officer for the Centers for Disease Control, Office of Surveillance and Analysis, Atlanta, Ga., and was assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

A summa cum laude graduate in chemical engineering from UC Davis, Byrd received his medical degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C. He completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. He earned his master's in public health from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, N.Y. where his thesis examined the health and social factors associated with early grade retention among children in the U.S. between 1981 and 1988.

Byrd is active in the Sacramento community, serving since 1998 on the Sacramento County Children's Coalition, for which he prepared the 2000 Sacramento County Children's Report Card. He is also on the steering committee of Sacramento ENRICHES (Engaging Neighborhood Resources for Improving Children's Health, Education, and Safety), and served on the California Lead Screening Advisory Task Force from 1996 to 2001. He is also a consultant to Sutter County Department of Social Services and is on the SETA Head Start Health Services Advisory Committee.