NHLBI Director Gibbons Retires
Dr. Gary Gibbons, director of NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is retiring from federal service at the end of January. Gibbons has served as NHLBI director since 2012, dedicating his federal service to leading research in the prevention and treatment of heart, lung and blood diseases as well as sleep disorders.
“Being the director of NHLBI has been my greatest privilege in public service,” Gibbons wrote in an internal memo to NHLBI staff. “Serving alongside exceptional NIH leaders, scientists and staff has been an honor.
“The dedication exhibited by the NIH community, the investigators we fund, our advocacy community and, importantly, the research participants and patient representatives whose support is invaluable, will continue to advance heart, lung, blood and sleep research in ways that help improve and extend people’s lives.”
Under Gibbons’ leadership, NHLBI has contributed to the fields of vascular biology, genomic medicine and the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. One of his notable efforts was the NHLBI-supported Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), which showed that intensive blood pressure management, below a commonly recommended target, significantly reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular events across all age groups.
Also under his leadership, the Cure Sickle Cell Initiative made great progress. Notably, less than five years after its launch, the FDA approved the first gene therapies for sickle cell disease in December 2023.
Gibbons championed and advanced the use of big data through NHLBI’s TOPMed program. This data source has served to generate major findings like new genetic variants linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); genetic risk factors and molecular pathways involved in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and has revealed genetic risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea.
He also led NIH-wide initiatives like the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Initiative and the NIH Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) to address the disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 in specific communities across the country and examine the debilitating conditions that have come to be known as Long Covid, respectively.
Gibbons earned degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining NIH, he served as the founding director of the Morehouse Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2007 and is a recipient of the 2021 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, the 2023 Wenger Award for Excellence in Public Service and the 2025 Research!America Builders of Science Award.
In retirement, in addition to spending more time with family, Gibbons plans to continue his ongoing contributions to the cardiovascular field.