David Gough, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of BioengineeringDavid Gough, Ph.D.
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RETIREMENT | DAVID GOUGH, PH.D.
RETIREMENT | DAVID GOUGH, PH.D.
A Legacy in Biosensor Technology
A Legacy in Biosensor Technology
Dr. David Gough, distinguished professor and founding faculty member of the UC San Diego Bioengineering Department, has retired after 45 years of service to research and teaching. He has been internationally recognized for his lifetime contribution to improve diabetes management for patients and received the NIH Research Award, the M.J. Kugel Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Gordon Engineering Leadership Award, and several teaching awards since he joined UC San Diego in 1976. Dr. David Gough served as chair for the Department of Bioengineering and as honorary professor at the Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. With the achievement of numerous research breakthroughs required for new implantable medical sensor approaches, Dr. Gough built a legacy for improved health care leading from research bench to the clinic, fulfilling his lifelong quest to improve the lives of people with diabetes.
Making a Difference in Diabetes Health and Management
Dr. David Gough spent his lifetime to ease the daily burden of health management of diabetic patients. Working to transfer a dream into reality and help people with diabetes reduce the impact of their condition on daily life, he developed the foundations for a long-term, fully implantable, miniature biosensor for continuous measurement of blood glucose levels without daily finger pricking. With the glucose biosensor technology poised for delivery to the public, Dr. Gough not only provided concerned parents hope for continuously monitoring dangerous high and low blood glucose fluctuations in their children, but the technology also is expected to support new “artificial pancreas” applications, when continuous blood glucose measurement is combined with an insulin pump to provide automatic control of patients’ glucose levels.
Transformational Research in Glucose Biosensor Technology
The fully implantable glucose biosensor approach pioneered by Dr. David Gough is the only such type of sensor that has been shown to function over a year in the human body. Starting his career at the Joslin Diabetes Center at the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Gough’s interest in artificial organs quickly led him to begin a quest for long term solutions for diabetes management. Later, based on the foundation of fundamentally transformative research breakthroughs achieved under his leadership at UC San Diego, he co-founded the company GlySens to translate the research into a practical device for use by patients, and with his continued support the company overcame many technical obstacles to bring the unique enzyme-based biosensor to clinical trials. With his 45 years of research in bioengineering at UCSD and through the founding of GlySens, Dr. Gough succeeded in transforming his key scientific and engineering research breakthroughs into a practical technology poised for introduction to the clinic.
Mentoring the Future Generation of Bioengineers
Besides being the author of over 100 publications in leading journals, such as Science Translational Medicine and Biomaterials, Dr. David Gough holds more than 18 patents in implantable sensor technology. He is known as one of the best mentors and supervisors of more than 60 doctorate students and numerous undergraduate students in bioengineering and health sciences to continue work in the wake of his legacy. He is treasured as a kind and supportive mentor, colleague, and leader, and would always find a project for any student, who was interested in his field. Dr. David Gough is a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the Juvenile Diabetes Association and served to review NIH research grants for more than 20 years. Although he did not like to be in the spotlight, he shared his experiences on TED talks on TV as a pioneer who transferred research results to commercial products that impact humans. Dr. David Gough always included his students in his successes and ensured that his legacy will live on through his kind and effective mentorship of the next generation of Bioengineers.
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