Ian Gibbons (March 6, 1946 – May 23, 2013) was a British biochemist and molecular biology researcher who served as the chief scientist of the US company Theranos, which was founded by Elizabeth Holmes. For more than 30 years, Gibbons performed research in medical therapeutics and diagnostic testing prior to joining Theranos in 2005. He attempted to raise issues with Theranos' management about the inaccuracy of their testing devices.
In 2013, Gibbons intentionally overdosed on acetaminophen the night before he was scheduled to be deposed in a lawsuit related to Theranos. He was hospitalized for several days and died from liver failure. Theranos collapsed in 2018 after journalist John Carreyrou revealed in The Wall Street Journal that its supposedly revolutionary blood testing devices, requiring only a fingerstick of blood, had never functioned as claimed. Gibbons had attempted to inform his superiors at Theranos, including Holmes, of the failure of their technology but the company's executives repeatedly ignored his objections.
Gibbons' career at Theranos is documented in Carreyrou's book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, and in the second episode of the ABC News podcast The Dropout. British actor Stephen Fry portrayed Gibbons in the biographical drama miniseries The Dropout, which is based on the podcast.
Early life and family
Ian Gibbons was born and raised in England. His father served in the British Armed Forces, and during World War II he was held captive in North Africa, and was held in prisoner of war camps in Italy and Poland before being liberated. Ian Gibbons earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. After obtaining his Ph.D., he moved to the United States and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of molecular biology of the University of California, Berkeley. Gibbons met his wife Rochelle while they were both studying microbiology at Berkeley in 1973, and they married in 1975. Rochelle was educated as a scientist and patent lawyer, and has worked in immigration law.
Career
Biotech research
For 30 years, Ian Gibbons worked on diagnostic and therapeutic products at technology companies. In the 1980s, he worked at a biotechnology firm called Syva Company, where he produced groundbreaking research on immunoassays. During his career, Gibbons was named on almost 200 patents. While working at Biotrack Laboratories, he developed blood assay technologies and held 19 patents for the scientific techniques he created. At Biotrack, Gibbons worked with Channing Robertson, who later recommended him as the first experienced scientist to be hired by Theranos. At Biotrack, Gibbons, Robertson, and others invented and patented a mechanism to dilute and mix liquid samples, abilities that would become key in Theranos' processes.
Theranos
In 2005, Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes hired Ian Gibbons as the company's chief scientist. Gibbons was the first experienced scientist hired by the company, with the title of Senior Director of Assay Development. He initially served as the company's lab director and as director of product development. In 2007, Gibbons was diagnosed with colon cancer. He underwent cancer treatments including chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, and was absent for some time from Theranos during his recovery.
For the company, Ian Gibbons authored 23 patents on which other Theranos researchers are also named. Holmes' name appears on 19 patents related to Theranos which were authored by Gibbons. He worked on blood chemistry with Gary Frenzel between 2005 and 2010, when Gibbons led the division. As chief scientist, Gibbons often gave the staff informal lectures on biochemistry and the science of blood testing. To ensure product success, Gibbons insisted blood-test results from Theranos developmental devices needed to match benchmark results of competitors' commercial analyzers.