Stewart Odendhal was born in San Diego, California in 1937 and grew up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was educated at the University of the South, UCLA (B.A. 1960), the University of California - Davis (D.V.M. 1967), and the University of Missouri (Ph.D.

1977). He has been employed primarily in research and teaching at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health (1967 - 1971), Pfizer, Inc. (1971 - 1973), and the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine (1978 - 1998).His diverse research interests has taken him all over the world and has resulted in scientific publications in many different fields of endeavor such as: Anatomy, Anthropology, Ecology, Epidemiology, Geography, Immunology, Medicine, Parasitology, Physiology of diving mammals, and virology. His research activities has been supported by major funding agencies such as: the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Geographic Society and many others.Since retirement he has served as a consultant to a scientific veterinary journal. He and his wife, Marta Prosbova live in Athens, Georgia USA in the winter and Prague, Czech Republic in the summer.