UNC physician, kidney researcher promotes diversity, inclusivity in medicine and life

As chief of pediatric nephrology at the UNC Kidney Center, Dr. Keisha Gibson is considered a champion for kidney research along with her roles as clinical physician and educator.

When she isn’t seeing patients, teaching at the UNC School of Medicine, or conducting ground-breaking research, Gibson said being a role model and mentor to the next generation of physicians is one of her most important roles.

“It’s my responsibility and privilege,” she said in a phone interview. “We need to be very deliberate in continuing that trend ... in supporting the programs that are helping young women.”

As a black female doctor, Keisha Gibson recognizes she’s a minority in the field, but she’s hopeful it will continue to diversify.

“Over 30 years, there’s clear progress,” she said. “Not only are we seeing increasing numbers of women and underrepresented minorities in the medical fields and in science, but we see more individuals moving up into leadership positions. There is definitely an improvement, but I think we still have a ways to go.”

Gibson said she is the product of positive representation as well as programs that promote women and minorities in science. She remembers listening to a young black dental student who spoke at a program about women in science.

“I can’t tell you her name, but I can to this day see her face, and I remember looking at her, sitting in the audience, and thinking, ‘Wow, she looks like me,’” she said.

Gibson said because of that woman’s impact on her, she prioritizes engaging with young people and being that role model. But Gibson said the importance of diversity isn’t only crucial for young women and minorities.

“I think it’s important for students who look like me, but it’s equally important for students who don’t look like me,” she said. “It’s equally important for (them) to understand the importance of inclusivity and to have the assumptions that people should be able to do anything that they want.”

A Durham native, Gibson graduated from Jordan High School before studying molecular biology at Winston-Salem State University and earning a medical degree at the UNC School of Medicine.

Much of her medical research focuses on the biological basis for racial and ethnic disease severity and treatment response in children and young adults with kidney disease. She also founded a collaboration with a mission to provide medical care and research chronic kidney disease in Ghana, a problem that continues to be an epidemic in West Africa.

Gibson said she strives to give back to the Triangle, a community she calls a family. Through her church, she leads a bi-annual health fair with Lyon Community Health in Durham. But her main focus is mentoring and acting as a role model for the area’s young people.

“I think about the state of North Carolina, and clearly the demographics across the board of our universities do not match up to the demographics of our state,” Gibson said.

Gibson said diversifying medical schools cannot be achieved passively. Not all students receive the same guidance, opportunities, and resources when preparing for medical school, which must be recognized, Gibson said. So actively recruiting and supporting diverse candidates must be a priority.

“Individuals like me that are in academic medicine can reach out and provide a service of reaching out to help identify these students early in their educational career,” she said.

Gibson said she hopes the next generation of female physicians seize every opportunity, be diligent and not listen to negative or unsupportive voices.

“I would tell a young girl (who wants to go into medicine) to know that she can do it and to not run away from challenges,” she said. “ I would tell her to not be shy about asking for help.”