A native Utahan, Dr. Robert Peterson graduated from the University of Utah, completing degrees in Biology and Psychology. He graduated magna cum laude and was also elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. Dr. Peterson attended medical school at the University of Utah School of Medicine where he graduated with honors in surgery. During medical school, he simultaneously completed a master's degree in neuro-pharmacology. He then completed an internship in General Surgery at the University of Oregon Hospitals and Clinics. His residency in neurosurgery was completed at the Brigham and Women's Hospital / Boston Children's Hospital program on the Harvard Medical School campus, where he served as chief resident.
As a senior resident, Dr. Peterson had the opportunity to work at some of the nation's leading hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital, NYU Medical Center and the University of Miami/ Jackson Memorial Hospital. A year of research was spent with Dr. Judah Folkman and the MIT biomaterials program using a newly developed biodegradable polymer impregnated with anti-angiogenesis drugs for the treatment of malignant glioma.
Dr. Peterson joined Dr. Bruce Sorensen and Dr. J. Charles Rich at LDS Hospital in 1988, where he has been practicing neurosurgery—surgery of the brain, spine and peripheral nerve—ever since. Dr. Peterson is currently Head of the Neurosurgery Division at LDS Hospital and also practices at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center.