Daniel Peterson, M.D.
President of Sierra Internal Medicine at Incline Village
Daniel Peterson, M.D., is an American physician in private practice in the state of Nevada who has been described as a "pioneer" in the treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y., in 1976 and was an intern and resident at the University of Utah Medical Center from 1976 to1979. In 1979, he became a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is president of Sierra Internal Medicine of Incline Village, established in 1981.
Dr. Peterson was a treating physician at Incline Village during an outbreak of CFS that began in 1984 in the Lake Tahoe region. From 1984 to 1987, the illness was recorded in 259 patients in the area by the two physicians. The Lake Tahoe outbreak became the subject of several studies by Dr. Peterson and others. In 1995, Dr. Peterson and other investigators began a 10-year follow-up study on patients seen during the outbreak. The study results were published in 2001 by the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Dr. Peterson founded Simmaron Research Inc. in April 2011 to fund and conduct pilot studies in collaboration with others to further advance the discovery of diagnostic markers and potential treatment options for CFS patients.
In 2011, Dr. Peterson was appointed adjunct professor on the faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University in Queensland, Australia.
Dr. Peterson, along with Annette and Harvey Whittemore, helped establish the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease at the University of Nevada in 2005 to aid patients with CFS, fibromyalgia and related illnesses. Dr. Peterson left the Whittemore Peterson Institute in March of 2010.
Dr. Peterson was a member of the board of directors and the scientific advisory board of the HHV-6 Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) associated scientific and clinical research. He was also part of the founding board and is a past-president of the International Association for CFS/ME, a professional organization advocating for the interests of CFS researchers and clinicians worldwide.
In 2003, he received the Rudy Perpich award, an award given to distinguished CFS/FM scientists, physicians or healthcare workers; in 2007, he received the Nelson Gantz Outstanding Clinician Award from the International Association for CFS/ME.
Dr. Peterson was commended by the Assembly and Senate of the State of Nevada for his work and dedication to persons with CFS in 1999.