Don Gibbons
Don Gibbons took courses in science communication while earning a degree in developmental biology at Indiana University and quickly decided he preferred the writing table to the lab bench. He has spent his career explaining scientific advances to the public at one of the first consumer science magazines, SciQuest, to physicians as editor in chief of Medical World News, and to broader audiences as head of communications at Stanford School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, where he lobbied congress for research funding. He later served as chief communication officer at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and currently conducts communication consulting for biotech companies—and walks his beagles on the beaches of Cape Cod.
Posts by: Don
Pluripotent stem cell clinical trials for SCI is the target of a “moonshot” consortium
Spinal cord injury (SCI) seemed like a logical first target for pluripotent stem cell therapy. In many cases a discrete lesion blocks the brain’s nerve signals from reaching the muscles or other tissues they are supposed to instruct. The solution: turn stem cells into the desired repair tool—in this case oligodendrocyte progenitors—and inject them hoping […]
One pioneer’s dogged pursuit of personalized cell therapy
A recent Wall Street Journal article reminded me of the work of someone I came to know well while at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM): Jeanne Loring of the Scripps Research Institute. The article detailed a cell therapy for Parkinson’s Disease being readied for clinical trials later this year by Aspen Neuroscience, a […]
Hope vs hype and champions vs charlatans
If you are reading all or parts of this blog carnival you are probably a fan of stem cells and regenerative medicine more broadly. You probably believe this field can and will change the way medicine is practiced. But how careful are you when choosing your words to express this fan-boy or fan-girl optimism? The […]