Robert Gibson
Robert received his BS in Microbiology from UNH in 1994. At that time his research included electron microscopy and binding assays to investigate the adherence and phagocytosis of Listeria monocytogenes. He later completed his Master of Public Health from UNH in 2005.
With 25 years of experience in veterinary diagnostics, Rob has been employed as Microbiology Section Head of the NH Veterinary Diagnostic Lab (NHVDL) and starting in 2012 as Managing Director.
He served for 12 years on the UNH Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), reviewing all university research involving recombinant DNA or infectious agents according to NIH guidelines. He left that position as Chair in 2018 with a dedicated service award.
In 2018 he was elected to the board of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) as the Northeast Regional Representative. He represents NH in the AAVLD House of Delegates and serves on a variety of other State and university committees.
As a poultry farmer, he is a board member of his county Farm Bureau. He has taught and guest lectures in courses on the topic of veterinary microbiology and zoonotic disease.
He managed the relocation logistics along with the required inspections, staff trainings and proficiencies when the state’s two diagnostic labs were consolidated to the university location in 2002.
In 2003 he obtained lab membership into the CDC’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN). As a sentinel lab member, Robert participates in bioterrorism training, drills and quarterly meetings with the State public health lab.
As Managing Director, he has focused on key areas that have included the funding, design and construction of a new facility in 2015 and bringing on new technologies such as MALDI-TOF in 2017.
Selected Publications
Needle, D. B., Marr, J. L., Park, C. J., Andam, C. P., Wise, A. G., Maes, R. K., . . . Gibson, R. (2020). Concurrent Infection of Skunk Adenovirus-1, Listeria monocytogenes, and a Regionally Specific Clade of Canine Distemper Virus in One Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and Concurrent Listeriosis and Canine Distemper in a Second Gray Fox. PATHOGENS, 9(7). doi:10.3390/pathogens9070591
Smith, J. T., Amador, S., McGonagle, C. J., Needle, D., Gibson, R., & Andam, C. P. (2020). Population genomics of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in companion animals in the United States. COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY, 3(1). doi:10.1038/s42003-020-1009-y
Needle, D. B., Gibson, R., Hollingshead, N. A., Sidor, I. F., Marra, N. J., Rothenheber, D., . . . Goodman, L. B. (2019). Atypical Dermatophytosis in 12 North American Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) from the Northeastern United States 2010-2017. PATHOGENS, 8(4). doi:10.3390/pathogens8040171
Pierce, M. M., Gibson, R. E., & Rodgers, F. G. (1996). Opsonin-independent adherence and phagocytosis of Listeria monocytogenes by murine peritoneal macrophages. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, 45(4), 258-262. doi:10.1099/00222615-45-4-258
