Laura Gibson, MD

Department of Medicine physician-scientist aims to curb transmission of viral infections through translational research and educational efforts. 

Laura Gibson, MD, professor of medicine and of pediatrics, is an adult and pediatric infectious disease physician and researcher whose work focuses on the study of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and other viruses in vulnerable populations.   

“CMV has been the pathogen I focused on, mainly because this group of herpesviruses, like cold sores and chicken pox, live with us for life,” said Dr. Gibson. “The immune system and the virus need to figure out how to coexist, so this relationship between the immune system and the virus is an  incredibly interesting research topic.”

According to the CDC, CMV affects over half of the population by age 40. The majority of adults and children do not present with any symptoms.  However, those with a developing or weakened immune system, such as the fetus or transplant recipients, can develop severe illness. Dr. Gibson, in partnership with her long-term UMass Chan collaborator Timothy Kowalik, PhD, of the Department of Microbiology, is currently leading the CMV Transmission and Immune Tracking (TransmIT) Study to investigate the transmission of the virus among children in group childcare settings and determine how they might lower the risk of transmission to pregnant caregivers.  

The CMV TransmIT Study is divided into two stages. Currently, in stage one, the study team is building a network of childcare centers in the Worcester, Metro-West, and Boston/Cambridge areas, developing relationships with the centers and their families, and working with community leaders on engagement strategies. Along with laying important groundwork in the communities that they are working with, the team is conducting critical work in the laboratory to understand transmission patterns of CMV in the childcare setting. “We've been enrolling children since last August, and now we will start enrolling adult childcare workers because we want to know how the virus is circulating in the centers starting with how many people have the virus in their saliva,” said Dr. Gibson.  

In stage two of the project, the protocol will include taking additional sample types repeatedly over time. The team aims to learn more about how the immune system controls the virus, which is spread through body fluids like saliva and urine. Young, healthy children frequently get sick in a childcare group setting, so viruses like CMV can spread silently because most children and adults are asymptomatic.  While children appear healthy, they still may have a highly infectious viral load in their saliva and urine, often for many months. “That's typically the way that the virus passes to other children and adult caretakers,” said Dr. Gibson. “And, if those caretakers are pregnant, it is a major risk factor for delivering a baby with congenital CMV, so we want to understand more about that.” 

Beyond her work on the CMV TransmIT Study, Dr. Gibson founded the Massachusetts Congenital CMV Coalition (MCC) and is currently serving as president. Developed in 2019, the group’s mission centers around CMV education, prevention, screening, and patient care. In conjunction with state legislators and advocates and like many other states, the coalition worked to file a bill in February 2023 to mandate universal newborn screening and prenatal counseling for CMV in Massachusetts. The bill passed through all key steps of the legislative process, but not final post-session negotiations. “We consider this to be a huge success.  We continue to see increasing interest from legislators and greatly appreciate their broad support, especially bill sponsors Senator Joan B. Lovely and Representative Kay Khan,” said Dr. Gibson. “We will refile the bill in February 2025. In the meantime, we’ll work collaboratively with clinical providers and professional organizations on a better understanding of the rationale for CMV prenatal education, universal newborn screening, and the plan for implementation.” 

Dr. Gibson earned her medical degree at UMass Chan Medical School and completed her medicine-pediatrics residency at Baystate Medical Center. She also completed a fellowship in infectious disease at UMass Chan. She has been a UMass Chan/UMass Memorial Health faculty member for over 20 years.  

We are inspired by Dr. Gibson’s dynamic approach to patient care, community-based research, and education, and thank her for her important contributions to the Department of Medicine.  

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