July 01, 2024

Theodore C. Lyster Award

This award was established to honor the memory of Brig. Gen. Theodore C. Lyster, the first Chief Surgeon, Aviation Section, United States Signal Corps. It is given annually for outstanding achievement in the general field of aerospace medicine. It is sponsored by the Army Aviation Medical Association.

Courtney D. Scott, Jr., D.O., MPH, FAsMA

Courtney D. Scott, Jr., D.O., MPH, FAsMA, receives the 2024 Theodore C. Lyster Award for his outstanding achievements in aerospace medicine. During residency at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, he analyzed the impact of strategic aeromedical evacuation from Operation Just Cause, which became the academic basis for the development of Critical Care Air Transport Teams. He is responsible for the development and implementation of the Preventive Health Assessment, which is still in use by all U.S. military services today. He served as the first ever Expeditionary Medical Group Commander for the Air Force, creating the first response to the Nairobi Embassy bombing in 1998. He subsequently served as Group Commander at Ramstein AFB, where he coordinated the medical response for the bombing of the USS Cole. He was later selected as Commander and Dean of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. In his current position as Division Manager for the FAA Aerospace Medical Certification Division, he leads the General Review Team and is instrumental in the medical certification of pilots and the training of new medical officers for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
   Dr. Scott is a military veteran who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during the Vietnam War. In 1986 he began a 22-year career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Colonel. He began his military career as Chief of the Emergency Room at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was selected for training as a Resident in Aerospace Medicine in 1989. Subsequently he went on to serve in many high-profile staff and medical command positions at Air Force installations across the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia and Germany. He served as Chief of Physical Standards for the USAF from July 1996 to June 1998. In June 2003, Dr. Scott became the Commander and Dean of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks City-Base, TX. He concluded his military career as Commander of the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute, Fort Sam Houston, TX.
   Dr. Scott is currently a certification physician for the Aerospace Medical Certification Division of the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. Before joining the FAA, he served as Advisor for International Affairs and Global Health Security to the Assistant Secretary, Office of Health Affairs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In the FAA, he served as branch manager, Certification Review and Appeals Branch for the Aerospace Medical Certification Division, from October 2010 until January 2012. He then served as the Manager of the Aerospace Medical Certification Division from January 2012 until June 2015. He has continued to serve since that time as a certification physician for the FAA.
   Dr. Scott is board certified in Aerospace Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine and is a member and fellow of the Civil Aerospace Medical Association, member and fellow of the Aerospace Medicine Association, and member of the Association of Specialists in Aerospace Medicine. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters.