C. MICHAEL GIBSON

Published by Daniel at June 2, 2023

Pioneer physician, dedicated scientist, and renowned leader Michael Gibson embodies the qualities of a trailblazer in science that aims for innovation in healthcare and advocates for open access to medical content.

Michael Gibson is an American Cardiologist born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1982-1984 Gibson earned his B.S. (being a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society) and M.S. degrees, and in 1986 he graduated from Medical School with honors from the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago. Subsequently, he became an intern, resident, and chief resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and did his cardiology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. After completing his medical training, Dr. Gibson became a Chief of Cardiology and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization laboratory at a Harvard Medical School affiliate and served as an Associate Physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.(1,2)

He is practicing interventional cardiology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and teaches at Harvard Medical School. Gibson is also a member of the FDA Cardiorenal Advisory Committee and Founder and Editor in Chief of Cardiology Now News. Besides his interest in medicine, he is a passionate artist and owner of a gallery where he exhibits his paintings.(3)

A Pioneer Cardiologist

Regarding his research work, Dr. Gibson expressed that he is mainly interested in coronary artery disease’s pathophysiology and the efficacy of pharmacologic therapies, being the leading investigator in several clinical trials of thrombolytic agents, glycoprotein 2b3a inhibitor agents, thienopyridines, factor Xa inhibitors, and lipid-lowering agents. Gibson led the PIONEER-AF PCI study that compared Rivaroxaban with Vitamin K antagonists and the ATLAS-2 studying Rivaroxaban in patients with ACS. His trials have also resulted in the international approval of Prasugrel and Betrixaban.(1,2,4,5)

Predicting the Outcome

Michael Gibson is a leading cardiologist worldwide due to his several discoveries in the cardiology field. Still, perhaps his most remarkable breakthrough is his finding on the benefits of receiving late reperfusion therapy in patients who suffered an acute myocardial infarction, settled down in a concept known as the “open artery hypothesis.” This proposition emphasizes that the late restoration of antegrade flow in the infarct-related artery did not reduce the incidence of death, reinfarction, or heart failure and can improve survival via a mechanism independent of the left ventricular function. He also invented angiographic measures of coronary blood flow commonly used today, such as the TIMI (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) frame count and the TIMI myocardial perfusion grade. These measures predict two-year mortality in acute MI and are used in clinical practice and the assessment of new reperfusion strategies. This physician has been the principal investigator of novel mechanisms of delivery of thrombolytic agents, such as ICE T – TIMI 49 (Intra-coronary Tenecteplase During Balloon Angioplasty) during the primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).(2,4,6,7,8)

Committed to Innovation and Collaboration between Colleagues

Besides his pioneer work in cardiology, another prominent aspect of Gibson’s career is his eagerness for research and sharing quality medical content with others. Gibson founded PERFUSE in 1987, an academic research organization with the main idea of providing scientific leadership and regulatory advice.

He has led this organization for over 30 years, participating in more than 1000 studies, and currently focuses on machine learning and AI to efficiently manage clinical data and improve predictive models. Working in synergy with PERFUSE, Gibson is also the CEO of the Baim Institute for Clinical Research at Harvard Medical School. Since his early steps in the organization in 2017, he has collaborated with highly respected researchers to advance health worldwide, and the entity has played a role in 50 FDA submissions. Doctor Gibson is also the founder and Editor In Chief of Clinical Trial Results since 1998 and served as the medical lead in a partnership with Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo to design the scheme of classifying medical content for the internet to be used on the website schema.org to improve medical search results.(,2,4,9,10,11)

Open Access to Medical Content and Democratization of Medicine

Another aspect of Doctor Gibson’s career is his role as an educator. He has stated in numerous opportunities that access to up-to-date medical education and content should be a right, especially in developing countries. Bearing this in mind, he founded WikiDoc.org and WikiPatient.org in 2005, facilitating open-source medical content and collaboration between the healthcare community. Nowadays, it is the world’s original and largest medical wiki and promotes information that is free to use and redistribute (copyleft content). In several meetings, Gibson has acted as a moderator and speaker to discuss the potential use and advantages that AI and Social Media could offer to healthcare, including wearable devices such as the Apple Watch to detect ST elevation and AF and imaging review. Regarding the impact of Social Media in medicine, the physician published in 2017 an article titled “The Democratization of Medical Research and Education Through Social Media.” In this paper, he discussed the benefits and limitations of social media as a network to obtain information, facilitate enrollment in clinical trials, and an educational tool; useful to combat misinformation.(10,11,12,13,15)

Unraveling the Potential

More recently, Michael Gibson has discussed the potential use of AI and machine learning in healthcare. In 2019 and 2020, he co-authored multiple articles comparing machine learning with traditional risk stratification methods predicting bleeding outcomes among patients with acute coronary syndrome and the risk of venous thrombosis in acutely ill patients. These studies showed improved discrimination, prediction, and assistance in the decision-making process while using machine learning, demonstrating AI Algorithms’ advantages in clinical settings.(13)

Leading by Example

Gibson has demonstrated a clear commitment and passion for medicine throughout his career. As a result of his arduous work, he was named in 2014 and 2018 “one of the world’s most widely published and cited scientists of the past decade” by Thomson Reuters and is considered one of America’s top doctors in U.S News & World Report.(13,14)