Yes, the question mark is actually part of his name, according to Australian law where he hails from.  No, you aren't the only person to wonder about that.  He has numerous books to his credit dealing various topics such as biology, epidemiology, medicine and public health. His books cover diseases like malaria, yellow fever, measles and AIDS.

His academic life began with sewage, studying sewage treatment and toxic waste cleanup for his PhD. Following that he did his postdoc at the University of Western Ontario, thus discovering infectious diseases.  After that there was a second postdoc at UCLA. He was part of the Disease Modelling Group in the School of Medicine, working on epidemiological models of HIV.

He can now be found teaching at the University of Ottawa. Besides teaching, he writes grants and organises conferences like every other assistant professor. He's still working on HIV, but has recently become interested in Human Papillomavirus (thanks to the new vaccine), malaria, various tropical diseases - and, of course, that terrifying infection known to humanity only as... zombies!

Be sure to bookmark his home page, you never know when you might need it:  Dr.Robert Smith? @ University of Ottawa