News & Events

Shawn Gibbs, PhD

Shawn Gibbs, PhD

Faculty Highlight –  Dr. Shawn Gibbs serves as the College of Public Health’s associate dean for student affairs. He previously served as the College of Public Health’s director of master’s programs and chair of the Curriculum Committee.
 
Dr. Gibbs currently teaches Foundations of Public Health, a required core course for all students in the College of Public Health. He also provides guest lectures on environmental health, water treatment, and waste management to several other courses. Dr. Gibbs serves as the academic adviser for many students and has served on over a dozen capstone committees and several doctoral dissertation committees. He was the 2012 recipient of the College of Public Health’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and a 2011 recipient of a UNMC Silver “U” Award.

Dr. Gibbs’s research area is environmental exposure assessment, focusing on environmental microbiology. Primary research interests are on environmental bioaerosols (bacterial, antibiotic resistant bacteria, fungal, viral) from both the indoor and ambient environments, and water exposures. This includes source evaluation, source tracking, and methods to reduce exposure. Additional current research includes work on the decontamination of highly infectious microorganisms. Dr. Gibbs is the author of more than 40 peer reviewed articles. He has served as a reviewer for over a dozen peer reviewed journals and has served as a grant reviewer for multiple organizations, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Fulbright Commission. His currently funded projects are in the areas of infection control, water reuse, and industrial hygiene.
 
Dr. Gibbs received a BS in biology from the Ohio State University, and both an MS in environmental engineering and a PhD in environmental science from the University of Cincinnati. He became a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) in 2009. Dr. Gibbs was a US Fulbright Scholar to Egypt in 2006. His previous work experience includes three years as a contract biologist/toxicologist for the USEPA, working on environmental water quality programs. Dr. Gibbs joined the College of Public Health in 2007 from the University of Texas Houston School of Public Health, where he was an assistant professor for five years. While in Texas, his research included water quality and quantity issues along the US-Mexico border, including issues associated with confined animal feeding operations.

Shawn Gibbs, PhD, is the UNMC COPH associate dean for student affairs and an associate professor in the UNMC COPH Department of Environmental, Agricultural, and Occupational Health.

Leave a Reply