On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to congratulate Peter Anderson on being awarded the Edward Patrick Finnerty Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be given out at the 30th Annual IAMSE Conference in June. This award is bestowed upon a member who has demonstrated sustained commitment to the advancement of the International Association of Medical Science Educators through exceptional contributions to the organization.
Because of the distinguished nature of this award, members cannot apply for it. Instead, it represents the highest level of recognition conferred by the Board of Directors following selection by past Finnerty Award recipients. This recognition is for an individual whose longstanding service and accomplishments have made a significant and lasting impact on the organization.
2026 Edward Patrick Finnerty Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Peter Anderson
Peter G. Anderson, D.V.M., PhD, is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Pathology at Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Raised in Oregon, Dr. Anderson earned his B.A. in Zoology from the University of Washington and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University. He subsequently pursued a Comparative Pathology Post-Doctoral Fellowship at UAB, where he also completed his PhD in Experimental Cardiovascular Pathology before joining the faculty.
A prolific and visionary investigator, Dr. Anderson maintained an NIH-funded research program for two decades, focusing on cardiac hypertrophy, atherosclerosis, and intravascular stents. His scholarly contributions include more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and seven patents. Among these innovations was a groundbreaking drug-coated stent that has been used to treat millions of cardiac disease patients worldwide. Anderson donated proceeds from this patent to the Reverend Robert and Ruth Anderson Endowed Chair in Pathology, named in honor of his parents.
Dr. Anderson began teaching medical students during his postdoctoral training and quickly recognized the critical need for faculty development in health professions education. He was fortunate enough to receive a fellowship to the Harvard Macy Physician Educator Program which provided him with a strong educational foundation. He also joined the AAMC Special Interest Group on Basic Science Education and members of this group went on to form the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE), where he served as a founding member and leader in numerous capacities. His roles included Technology Committee Chair, Course Co-Director of the Annual Faculty Development Course in Technology Enhanced Education alongside Jeanne Schlesinger, member of the Program Planning Committee, multiple terms on the Board of Directors, and Vice President under then IAMSE President Pat Finnerty.
Dr. Anderson demonstrated extraordinary foresight by developing one of the earliest comprehensive digital repositories for medical education, the Pathology Education Instructional Resource. The PEIR website was designated the “Best Departmental Web Site” at the Pathology Informatics Annual Meeting in 1999. This pioneering platform—now encompasses more than 40,000 digital teaching images, virtual microscopy, and hundreds of instructional cases—has become an invaluable global resource for students and educators alike.
Anderson has been an impactful educator at UAB; teaching medical, dental, optometry and graduate students. He has received numerous medical student Argus Awards over the decades, as well as the Dean’s Award for Teaching (twice), the President’s Award for Teaching, and the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching. In recognition of his exceptional contributions to medical education nationally and internationally, Dr. Anderson received the prestigious AOA-AAMC Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award in 2008, recognizing the most outstanding medical educators in the United States and Canada. He was also honored with the Stanley Robbins Distinguished Educator Award from the American Society for Investigative Pathology and the Raible Distinguished Teaching Award in Undergraduate Medical Education from the Association for Academic Pathology. Further reflecting his international impact, Dr. Anderson was appointed a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Medical Education Curricular Development from 2009 to 2014, during which time he collaborated with medical schools in Africa and Taiwan to advance their curricula and to incorporate digital resources in teaching.
In 2023, the Association of Academic Pathology selected D. Anderson as a member of its inaugural class of Distinguished Pathology Educators, recognizing him as one of the most accomplished educators in pathology and laboratory medicine, and in 2025, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine honored him with the Veterinary Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research, celebrating his profound contributions to biomedical research, medicine, public health, education, and veterinary medicine.
It is with sincere appreciation and gratitude to his continued efforts and outstanding support that we bestow this award to our dear friend and colleague, Peter Anderson. Congratulations, and thank you for all that you do for IAMSE.
Thank you,
Carol Nichols
President, IAMSE