LCDR Gardner enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 2007 and served at STATION Panama City Beach, Florida. In 2010 he earned a commission via Officer Candidate School and served afloat on the USCGC VIGILANT as a Deck Watch Officer and Department Head (2010-2012). His following tour was as the Operations Officer for the USCG Ceremonial Honor Guard in Washington DC (2012-2015). LCDR Gardner completed another bachelor’s degree, and master’s degree, focused in Medical Sciences from the University of Nebraska Medical Center from 2015-2017. After graduate school, he became a nationally board certified Physician Assistant and Medical Officer for the Coast Guard. He served in the USCG Academy Regional Practice clinic from 2018 until 2021 where he served as a primary care provider and Outpatient Department Supervisor. In 2021 he was given an instructor position within the Science Department to help create healthcare science-oriented courses, along with teach Chemistry.

LCDR Gardner continues to practice as a Hospitalist PA-c for Yale New Haven Healthcare, where he trained in Internal Medicine and Critical Care. He also serves as a Healthcare Science Editor for Pearson Education, a college textbook publisher for undergraduate education.

Education

• B.S. in Information Technology, Florida State University
• B.S. in Medical Science, University of Nebraska
• M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies, University of Nebraska

Courses Taught

• Microbiology
• General Chemistry I & II
• Anatomy & Physiology I & II

Selected Publications and Presentations:

• Master’s Thesis: Gardner, C. J. (2018). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Comparing Efficacies of Cannabis versus Current Treatments. [Master’s Thesis, University of Nebraska Medical Center]
• Publication: The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Victoria T Chu, Esan Simon, Xiaoyan Lu, Patrick Rockwell, Glen R Abedi, Christopher Gardner, et. al, Outbreak of Acute Respiratory Illness Associated with Human Adenovirus Type 4 at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 2019, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2021;, jiab322, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab322

Honors

• CG Commendation Medal; “O” Device
• CG Achievement Medal
• CG Commandant Letter of Commendation Ribbon (x2)
• USCG Physician Assistant Badge
• USAF Biomedical Service Corps Badge
• USCG Honor Guard Qualification Badge

Professional Memberships

• American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) fellow
• Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) member
• National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) associate
• National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA); Board Certified
• Practitioner License in Connecticut and Rhode Island as a Physician Assistant (PA-c)