Peter J. Russell received a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Sussex, England, in 1968 and a Ph.D. in Genetics from Cornell University in 1972. He has been a member of the Biology faculty of Reed College since 1972; he is currently a Professor of Biology. He teaches a section of the introductory biology course, a genetics course, an advanced molecular genetics course, and a research literature course on molecular virology.

In 1987, he received the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award from Reed College in recognition of his excellence in teaching. Since 1986, he has been the author of a successful genetics textbook; current editions are "iGenetics: A Mendelian Approach, iGenetics: A Molecular Approach," and "Essential iGenetics." He wrote nine of the BioCoach Activities for The Biology Place. Peter Russell's research is in the area of molecular genetics, with a specific interest in characterizing the role of host genes in pathogenic RNA plant virus gene expression; yeast is used as the model host. His research has been funded by agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the American Cancer Society. He has published his research results in a variety of journals, including "Genetics, Journal of Bacteriology, Molecular and General Genetics, Nucleic Acids Research, Plasmid, and Molecular and Cellular Biology." He has a long history of encouraging faculty research involving undergraduates, including co-founding the biology division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in l985. He was Principal Investigator/Program Director of an NSF Award for the Integration of Research and Education (AIRE) to Reed College, 1998-2002.