The HU Distinguished Alumnus Award was established to recognize a Hahnemann University graduate who is highly acclaimed for excellent service and accomplishment in his/her respective professional field, leadership in the medical profession, participation in professional organizations, and scholarly activity that brings recognition to the medical school and the association.
Dr. Pettyjohn has had a long and distinguished career in aerospace medicine, which has enhanced the links between science and the clinical practice of aerospace medicine.
A native of Delaware, he graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and entered the U.S. Army as a 2nd lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers serving in Korea. Following his return, he received his medical degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, which is now Drexel University.
Dr. Pettyjohn served in Vietnam as a flight surgeon for the 17th Combat Aviation Group in 1966. On his return, he completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Madigan Army Medical Center in Fort Lewis, Wash.
Dr. Pettyjohn completed a post-doctoral fellowship in public health/preventive medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. He also completed a residency in Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio. He served as cardiologist and flight surgeon for Operation Homecoming to return Vietnam POWs to the United States in 1973.
He joined the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Fort Rucker, Ala., conducting research in the fields of aeromedical evacuation, oxygen systems, trauma and altitude physiology. He continued his research at the Naval Aeromedical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Fla. Upon leaving military service, he joined the USA College of Medicine as professor and chair of the department of emergency medicine in 1989.
Dr. Pettyjohn was recalled to the U.S. Army in 1991 as a cardiologist and aviation medicine consultant at the U.S. Army Aeromedical Center during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He served as a member of the aeromedical team that returned the US POWs from Desert Storm to the United States. In December 2008, he again returned to active duty in the U.S. Army as a flight surgeon and cardiologist with the 345th Combat Support Hospital in Tikrit, Iraq.
Dr. Pettyjohn is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, preventive medicine (aerospace medicine) and emergency medicine. He is recognized internationally as an expert in aviation and space medicine and served as president of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine from 2005 to 2007. Dr. Pettyjohn continues his research career in the fields of clinical medicine conducting trials of anti-hypertensive medications, cholesterol treatment, and combined hypertension and diabetes management.
In May 2010, Dr. Pettyjohn was the first recipient of the John Ernsting Award. The award was presented to him at the Honors Ceremony of the Aerospace Medicine Association’s Annual Scientific Meeting.
