Ronald W. Maris, Ph.D., directs the Center for the Study of Suicide and is Professor of Preventive Medicine at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches suicide death investigation and prevention to psychiatric residents, physicians, nurses, and medical students. He is also editor ofSuicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, the official journal of the American Association of Suicidology. The author of numerous journal articles on suicide, Dr. Maris has served as either author or editor of 11 books on the topic. He is past president and treasurer of the American Association of Suicidology and is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.