Dr. David Anderson, a professor in the chemistry department at Cleveland State University, has received the 2025 Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) Outstanding Contributions to Education in Clinical Chemistry Award, an 8,000-member global scientific and medical organization dedicated to clinical laboratory science and its application to health care.

Dr. Anderson is board-certified in clinical chemistry by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. He received a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Iowa State University and completed a clinical chemistry postdoctoral fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He joined the CSU faculty in 1988.

The award honors individuals who have dedicated a significant portion of their professional lives to advancing the practice of clinical chemistry through education. Recipients are recognized for making substantial, innovative or cumulatively outstanding contributions to the field.

 “It is a tremendous honor to win this award. I came to Cleveland State because of their doctoral program in clinical chemistry, after completing my post-doctoral fellowship in clinical chemistry at the Mayo Clinic. I am grateful to God for having this position open just at the very time I was searching,” said Anderson. “My desire was to secure a faculty position at a university that had a doctoral program in this field. Little did I know that there would be only one accredited doctoral program in the country, at Cleveland State. To have this position open at that time was truly amazing!”.

Dr. Anderson serves as director of the doctoral program in clinical chemistry, a track within the Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry doctoral program at CSU, offered jointly with the Cleveland Clinic. This program provides rigorous training in medical diagnostics and analytical techniques.

Over his 34-year tenure as director or co-director, Dr. Anderson has developed the program into a nationally and internationally recognized leader in clinical chemistry education. It is currently the only accredited doctoral program in clinical chemistry worldwide, accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Clinical Chemistry, which also accredits postdoctoral programs.

In addition to CSU faculty, the program includes clinical chemists and scientists from institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, MetroHealth, Akron Children’s Hospital and other area hospitals. Students participate in internships at these sites as part of their training.

 “When I began my faculty position, I dedicated myself to build a solid curriculum program which covers disease diagnosis rigorously, conveying an understanding of all aspects of disease, as a comprehensive background to diagnosis. This was not, and is not, a static endeavor, as the field is continually advancing. I have a passion and enthusiasm for teaching this fascinating field, as do my faculty colleagues in the Department of Chemistry, particularly Dr. Aimin Zhou and Dr. Yana Sandlers, but also others, who actively teach in this degree program,” said Anderson.

He added: 

“This program also draws upon many PhD and MD directors of clinical laboratorians at world-renown medical institutions in Cleveland and surrounding areas, who lecture in the program and mentor our students in internships in their clinical laboratories. This award is for the entire team of faculty teaching in this nationally/internationally recognized accredited doctoral program.”   

STUDENT SUCCESS

Under Dr. Anderson’s leadership, 69 students have graduated from this doctoral program. Alumni include 37 clinical lab directors at institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, Yale, Duke, Vanderbilt, Quest Diagnostics and many other major medical centers; six CEOs or vice presidents; and 11 university faculty members, including one dean. 

Many graduates also hold high positions in the in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, as well as leadership roles at local institutions including MetroHealth, the Cleveland VA Medical Center, Akron Children’s Hospital and Cleveland HeartLab.

From 2012 to 2024, 30 doctoral students from the program earned 66 awards, including 22 research or presentation honors at national meetings, five regional presentation awards, six institutional research and manuscript awards, 32 travel awards to national meetings and one national postdoctoral scholarship.

“The success of the doctoral alumni who have graduated from this program is absolutely the cornerstone achievement of this program. What a privilege it was to celebrate at the ADLM conference with over thirty alumni and current students of the doctoral clinical chemistry program, who are colleagues or soon-to-be colleagues,” said Anderson. “This included the very first students in the program when I came to CSU. This is the most satisfying aspect of my career at CSU. These alumni and current students are a major part of this award.”

CONTINUED SUCCESS

In addition to his directorship role in the clinical chemistry program, Dr. Anderson was instrumental in securing approval of the joint doctoral Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry program with the Cleveland Clinic from the Ohio Board of Regents in 1998. He also founded the Mass Spectrometry Center at CSU in 1997 and served as its director. His publications have appeared in the journals Clinical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Chromatography A, Journal of Chromatography B, Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, and Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies. 

He has also authored several book chapters on chromatography in clinical chemistry and bioanalysis and currently serves as guest editor for a special issue of Journal of Chromatography B on clinical analysis.

In addition to the ADLM award, Dr. Anderson received two Cleveland State University teaching honors: the 2017 Jearl D. Walker Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Sciences and Health Professions, and the 2019 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award.