The American Heart Association will present its 2026 Chairman's Award to Cheryl A.M. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., FAHA, founding dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at the University of California, San Diego. The award recognizes medical and science volunteers whose leadership advances the Association's goals beyond their scientific contributions. Anderson will be honored during the Association's Scientific Sessions 2026, Nov. 6-9 in Chicago.
The recognition highlights Anderson's more than two decades of volunteer service, which has shaped the Association's strategy, strengthened its volunteer community, and translated evidence into action in communities across the country. "Few volunteer leaders have shaped the work of the American Heart Association as broadly or deeply as Dr. Cheryl Anderson, and it is a privilege to recognize her with the 2026 Chairman's Award," said Lee A. Shapiro, J.D., 2025-27 volunteer chairperson of the Association's National Board of Directors. "Her impact extends beyond her scientific accomplishments. She brings people together around bold goals, mentors emerging leaders and turns evidence into action that strengthens the Association and the communities we serve."
Anderson's commitment to community health was recently demonstrated through UC San Diego's Revive and Survive initiative, developed with the Association's San Diego team. The initiative reached its goal of training 1 million people in San Diego in bystander CPR, uniting 49 partners across public health, public safety, education, business, and community organizations around the shared goal of creating a Nation of Lifesavers. That effort reflects the Association's broader push to improve survival from cardiac arrest by increasing bystander response.
As a volunteer leader, Anderson has also helped advance the emerging field of Food is Medicine. She contributed to the Association's inaugural Food is Medicine research planning efforts, helping shape a scientifically rigorous portfolio focused on how nutrition interventions can support engagement, adherence, and lasting behavior change. She has championed nutrition-related public policy through the Association's Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health and influenced national and international policy through service on the National Academy of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board and the 2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
Most recently, Anderson represented the Association on the writing committee for the 2026 multi-society Joint Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia and co-authored the Association's 2026 scientific statement, "Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health." These contributions are likely to inform clinical practice and public health recommendations on cholesterol management and nutrition, areas that directly affect the prevention of heart disease and stroke.
A dedicated volunteer since 2004, Anderson has served on the National Board of Directors and chaired the Council Operations Committee, the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, and the Nutrition Committee for the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health. She has also served on the Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee and the Advocacy Coordinating Committee, helping strengthen collaboration among professional members, councils, and volunteers.
Her research has deepened understanding of how sodium, nutrition, and healthy eating patterns influence cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Her work has shaped behavioral strategies and public health guidance worldwide, while her community-driven research has advanced cardiovascular health in diverse populations. As founding dean of UC San Diego's Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, she has led growth in interdisciplinary education, research, and innovation. She also serves as a professor in the division of nephrology and hypertension and the department of radiation medicine and applied sciences and holds the Hood Family Endowed Dean's Chair in Public Health.
"I am deeply honored to receive this award from the American Heart Association, an organization I admire for its commitment to research, advocacy and developing the next generation of cardiovascular health leaders," Anderson said. "For more than two decades, I have been inspired by what we have accomplished together, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue advancing our shared goal of making the healthy diet choice the default."
Anderson earned her bachelor's degree from Brown University, a master of public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a master of science in epidemiology and doctorate in nutrition sciences from the University of Washington, where she completed postdoctoral training in epidemiology. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016. She is deputy editor of the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Care and serves on the editorial committee for the Annual Review of Nutrition.
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