Each year, The Donoho School selects an Alumnus/Alumna of the Year to recognize a graduate who has distinguished himself/herself through achievements since graduating from Donoho. Past recipients have excelled in business, academia, medicine, and service and represent the best of what a Donoho education can help a person achieve, and our past recipients epitomize the values of our mission we try everyday to instill in our students. We are very proud to announce this year’s recipient, Dr. Anand Iyer.
Dr. Iyer graduated from Donoho in 2003 as class valedictorian. While he was at Donoho, he excelled in all areas of the school. He was a co-editor of the Penfeather and the Gauntlet, excelled at piano, was a four-time All-State choir participant, and was the Alabama 1A 3200 meter champion. From Donoho, he attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in Biology and was a member of UAB’s Early Medical Program and the UAB University Honors Program. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies, he was selected to present the undergraduate commencement address to over 10,000 fellow graduates. Dr. Iyer continued his studies at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham (UASOM). While in medical school, he served as President of the UASOM Class of 2011 from 2009-2011, President of the UASOM Student Senate in 2010-2011, and was appointed by the President of UAB to serve as a UAB Student Representative on the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees. He was again selected to be the commencement speaker at his graduation from medical school. After graduation, Dr. Iyer was appointed to the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham where he currently serves as Assistant Professor of Medicine.
We hope all of our Donoho graduates become lifelong learners, and Dr. Iyer’s career at UAB, through his research and publications, is an outstanding example of what such a lifelong learner should be. Dedicated to improving the life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Dr. Iyer has been published in major medical journals a dozen times already in his career and has completed many additional manuscripts awaiting acceptance and publication. He also serves as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for many prestigious medical publications. He has won numerous research awards and grants and was recently selected as one of three UAB Patient Centered Outcomes Research K12 Scholars, earning a grant in excess of $240,000 to further his research in early palliative care in COPD. In his commencement address from UAB in 2007, Dr. Iyer challenged fellow graduates to give back to local communities as they leave their mark on the world. Clearly, Dr. Iyer has followed his own advice.
Dr. Iyer is the son of Dr. Sathyan V. Iyer and Mrs. Sharada Iyer of Anniston. He resides in Birmingham with his wife Emily, his daughter Esmé, and his son Ezra. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Anand Iyer, Class of 2003, as The Donoho School 2018 Alumnus of the Year.
