UF Health names new chair for orthopaedic surgery

C. Parker Gibbs Jr., M.D., is the new chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine for the University of Florida College of Medicine.

In making the announcement, Colleen Koch, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., dean of the college and the Folke H. Peterson Dean’s Distinguished Professor, said, “We are thrilled to have Dr. Gibbs assume this leadership role in our College of Medicine. He has displayed a longstanding commitment to the UF College of Medicine and has demonstrated remarkable administrative leadership during his time as chief medical officer. With his extensive clinical and research expertise and deep familiarity with our clinical care locations throughout UF Health, Dr. Gibbs is ideally suited to lead the department forward.”

Gibbs is a nationally respected orthopaedic surgeon with a long history of exceptional patient care, leading-edge research and distinguished clinical leadership. He specializes in limb salvage surgery for children and adults with bone and soft tissue sarcomas of the pelvis and extremities, and he is one of fewer than 200 surgeons nationwide considered an expert in this field.

He earned his medical degree at the University of Florida before completing his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Colorado and his fellowships in orthopaedic oncology and orthopaedic oncology research at the University of Chicago. He served as director of musculoskeletal oncology at the University of Colorado for five years before his appointment to the UF department of orthopaedics in 2003.

At UF, Gibbs holds the Eugene L. Jewett Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and serves as chief of the division of musculoskeletal oncology. He has also held roles at UF as the deputy director of medical affairs for the UF Health Cancer Center and chaired numerous hospital and college committees. Most recently, he has served as the chief medical officer of UF Health Shands Hospital and senior associate dean for clinical affairs in the UF College of Medicine.

Gibbs has been a National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute-funded primary investigator who has published over 80 scientific papers, with his work appearing in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the American Journal of Clinical Oncology and the journal Cancer Research. He has also directed the Musculoskeletal Oncology and Stem Cell Laboratory at UF, where the research team studies the mechanisms that determine the malignant potential of osteosarcoma cells.

Gibbs was elected to membership in the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and is also a member of several other professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has held executive leadership positions in the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society and the Connective Tissue Oncology Society. He has served as an examiner for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and on the editorial board of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

Media Contact:

Gary Mans at gary.mans@ufl.edu; 352-265-9406.