Dr. Gibson is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center where he is Director of Translational Research for Head and Neck Oncology. He recently moved from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center where he was Medical Director of the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Malignancies Program and Medical Director of the Clinical Trials Unit. Following six years as Co-Director of Esophageal Cancer Research with Dr. James Luketich and Leader of the Esophago-Gastric Clinical Research Program at the Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh, he was recruited by Dr. Neal Meropol to join the Seidman Cancer Center (SCC) as a translational investigator in aero-digestive malignancies, with a primary focus on cancers of the head and neck. Along with his colleagues in radiation oncology, head and neck surgery and affiliated laboratories, his goal was to integrate the multidisciplinary pre-clinical research and clinical trials programs in head and neck cancer at the Seidman Cancer Center/Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. In these roles, he led or co-led all clinical trials within this domain, managed the clinical trials mechanism through the Cancer Center’s Clinical Research Services and treated patients at the SCC.
After obtaining his MD from Johns Hopkins, he completed an Osler Medical Residency and Medical Oncology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital while concurrently earning a PhD in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He currently leads local and national therapeutic trials for aero-digestive cancers, all with translational laboratory components. His laboratory experiences at the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences led to a number of publications regarding hormone receptor biology and DNA repair, which led to his translational research focus. His national presence in the field of aero-digestive cancers includes: Leadership of the Upper GI Working Group of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (through which he was the PI on E2205); membership on the NCI Esophago-Gastric Task Force; and membership on the Head and Neck Committee of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and service on the NCI Central IRB. At the University of Pittsburgh, he served as Chairmanship of the Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) Data, Safety and Monitoring Committee, the HCC Protocol Review Committee, the University of Pittsburgh IRB and the HCC Clinical Research Oversight Committee. Given his proven leadership and communication skills, he was appointed as the Medical Director of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center Clinical Trials Unit (CTU). The CTU provides core services to Case CCC clinical investigators, including protocol writing, regulatory support, research nursing and data management, and QA oversight. In this role, Dr. Gibson collaborated with the Administrative Director of the CTU to manage the activities of more than 60 staff members, including research nurses that served approximately 10 regional community clinical sites that participate in over 100 clinical trials across disease types.
He was recently recruited by Dr. Kim Rathmell to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center as Research Director for Head and Neck Oncology. The overall goals of his research efforts are to bring novel therapeutics to the treatment of aero-digestive cancers based on rational pre-clinical investigation and in the setting of a focus on patient safety and outcomes.