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Home / Academics / Academic Majors / Marine and Environmental Sciences / Marine and Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff / LCDR Christopher J. Gardner

Christopher J. Gardner, MSc, Lieutenant Commander, USCG

Instructor Marine and Environmental Sciences Department of Chemical and Environmental Science
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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)

Contact Information

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Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

  1. If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  2. If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  3. If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  4. If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  5. All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.

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