Michael Conner Gibson was a gifted journalist, a talented musician and a devoted reader.
He was a loyal friend and a loving son and brother.
Michael lost his life to addiction in 2019.
As the United States continues to face the persistent and deadly opioid crisis, driven by the dangerous synthetic fentanyl, a $2.67 million gift to the 91猎奇 from the estate of Dr. William A. Gibson will honor his late son Michael, who lost his life to addiction in 2019.
The bequest builds on the Gibsons鈥� earlier gift that created the Michael C. Gibson Addiction Research Program in the Department of Psychology in memory of their son. That program produces some of the highest profile drug research in the world, recently developing a fentanyl vaccine that could block its ability to enter the brain, thus eliminating the drug鈥檚 鈥渉igh.鈥�
The new donation will establish the Michael Conner Gibson Endowed Professorship in Psychology and the Michael Conner Gibson Research Endowment in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
鈥淭his incredibly generous gift will accelerate UH鈥檚 addiction research program and advance new approaches to treatment,鈥� said Daniel O鈥機onnor, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
鈥淥ur future discoveries will forever honor the memory of Michael Conner Gibson and the Gibson family, and I expect that the work supported by these endowments will eventually save many thousands of lives,鈥� said Daniel O鈥機onnor, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.
The Michael C. Gibson Addiction Research Program is led by Therese Kosten, professor of psychology and co-led by Colin Haile, founding member of the UH Drug Discovery Institute. Their breakthrough fentanyl vaccine discovery could have major implications for the nation鈥檚 opioid epidemic by becoming a relapse prevention agent for people trying to quit using opioids. While research reveals Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is treatable, an estimated 80% of those dependent on the drug suffer a relapse.
William Gibson (1933鈥�2024) was a distinguished physicist, innovator and philanthropist. After earning his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of Rochester, he began his career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and later co-founded Elographics, where he was instrumental in developing resistive-touch touchscreen technology and securing several related patents. Dr. Gibson鈥檚 contributions to science and philanthropy continue to create a legacy.
Michael was a gifted journalist, a talented musician, and a devoted reader. He was a loyal friend and a loving son and brother.
In 2019, following Michael鈥檚 death, his loving parents provided operating funds for faculty research program costs in the UH Addiction Behavioral Research Lab. The money was given to celebrate Michael鈥檚 creative spirit through supporting cutting-edge research to help eliminate the hopelessness and helplessness confronting those suffering from addiction as well as their loved ones. The endowments established from this newest bequest will create perpetual funding committed to addiction research in memory of William and Mary Gibson and their son.
The endowed professorship is combined with matching funds from the Aspire Fund Challenge, a transformational $50 million grant program established in 2019 through a gift from an anonymous donor. The professorship is matched one-to-one by the donor, doubling its impact. Designed to propel UH鈥檚 academic enterprise to unprecedented levels of distinction through philanthropic investment in research and scholarship, the Aspire Fund has enabled UH to increase the number of endowed chairs and professorships, including this new position.