[removed]Gary H. Gibbons, MD[/removed], has been named the new director of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Gibbons is the founder and current director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, and chairperson of the department of physiology and professor physiology and medicine at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

“It’s an honor to join the NIH and lead the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,” said Gibbons. “The globally recognized research and training supported by the NHLBI continues to advance biomedical knowledge in fields related to heart, lung, and blood diseases. I look forward to working with the institute staff and with the many researchers supported by the Institute to foster multidisciplinary approaches to improve disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment that will advance the health of all Americans.”

Gibbons has served as a member of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council (NHLBAC) since 2009, a position he resigned after being selected to be director of the NHLBI. He was also a member of the NHLBI Board of Extramural Experts, a working group of the NHLBAC. Gibbons has received 15 NHLBI-supported grants since 1997.

Gibbons’ institute at Morehouse is recognized for its discovery science related to cardiovascular health of minority populations. His laboratory is focused on discovering novel mediators of vascular disease. His program involves collaborative efforts to study the functional significance of genomic variation and changes in gene activities due to ‘epigenetic’ modifications of DNA that do not involve a change in the genetic code, as factors that enhance the susceptibility to cardiovascular disease.

He will start his new position this summer. Susan B. Shurin, MD, will continue as acting director of NHLBI until Gibbons starts, at which point she will resume her role as the institute’s deputy director.

Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute