David (Andy) Anderson

2026 Cazier Professor Lifetime Achievement Award Nominee

College of Arts & Sciences | Biology

I was raised in Ventura, California, initially by two parents until my father died of rapidly progressing multiple sclerosis when I was nine. After that my two brothers and I were cared for by our dedicated mother who urged us all to use our lives well in the years to come. I developed a keen interest in biological sciences when I was in high school and I carried that focus when I went to college. In 1971 I graduated from the University of Pacific in California with my Bachelor’s degree in Biology with no clear direction for my future. As a result, I enlisted in the U.S. Army, which absolutely gave me a pathway for my future that still runs to this day. After finishing basic training I was designated as a Biological Science Assistant with the 6th Army Medical Laboratory and stationed in Fort Baker, which was physically underneath of the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. There I was trained as a Microbiologist and was eventually promoted to Spec 4. At the end of my tour I was happily a recipient of the generous GI Bill, which subsequently helped to pay for my Clinical Laboratory Scientist training in California, my Master’s Degree in Bacteriology at ISU in Iowa, and most of my Ph.D. in Medical Microbiology from Creighton University in Nebraska. I then came to USU in 1983 and have spent most of the past 43 years as a Principal Lecturer in the Biology Department teaching a wide variety of medically-related courses. I plan to be here for many years to come. This enlightening and rewarding journey would not have been possible without the guidance and funding provided by the U.S. Army and by the support I have received from my colleagues in the USU Biology Department.