Dr Alan Peters received his doctorate in Zoology from Bristol University, and after serving on the faculty of the Department of Anatomy at Edinburgh University in Scotland, he came to Boston as Chairman of the Department of Anatomy in 1966. He continued as Chairman of the Department until stepping down from that position in 1998.

In his research Dr Peters studies the structure of the nervous system, its organization, and the relationships between its component cells, the neurons and neuroglial cells. He is the author, with S.L. Palay and H. DeF Webster of the classical text "The Fine Structure of the Nervous System". He was the President of the American Association of Anatomists in 1992 and in 1998 he was named the recipient of the Henry Gray Award, which is the most prestigious award given by that Association. In 1991 the Cajal Club named him as the recipient of the Cortical Discoverer Award.

Dr Peters' research centers around electron microscopy. At present he is studying the changes that occur with normal aging in the cerebral hemispheres of rhesus monkeys. This is part of a group investigation into the factors which determine the decline in cognition that occurs with aging. The research is funded by NIH.