Summer L. Gibbs

Summer L. Gibbs is a Professor and the Douglas Strain Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). She specializes in developing novel contrast agents and imaging technologies for clinical translation, with a focus on nerve-specific fluorescence imaging and theranostic applications.

Education:

• B.S., 2003, Whitworth College
• Ph.D., 2008, Dartmouth College (Thayer School of Engineering)
• Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Research Interests:
Her lab develops nerve-specific fluorophores (e.g., near-infrared agents) to improve surgical precision and reduce nerve injury. She also pioneers cyclic immunostaining (cyCIF) for multiplex microscopy, enabling spatial analysis of cancer phenotypes and treatment efficacy. Recent work includes imaging tumor margins, drug distribution, and hybrid cancer-immune cells as metastasis biomarkers.

Labs/Teams: Her interdisciplinary team collaborates across biomedical engineering, oncology, and surgery to advance translational imaging tools for clinical use.