Dr Gerber is an Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sydney and has spent much of his career contributing to some of the world's largest and most influential heart studies. His research has helped shape how cardiologists around the world diagnose and treat coronary artery disease and high blood pressure.
Selected key research and corresponding links to the full publications are detailed below for further reading.
For decades, doctors assumed that opening a blocked artery with a stent would ease angina (chest pain) — but this had never been tested against a "sham" procedure the way new medicines are. Dr Gerber was part of the team behind ORBITA, the first trial of its kind to compare a real stenting procedure against a placebo procedure in patients with stable angina. The findings prompted a rethink, worldwide, of how and when stenting should be offered for chest pain relief, and helped establish more rigorous standards for testing heart procedures.
Al-Lamee R, Thompson D, Dehbi HM, et al (Gerber R). Percutaneous coronary intervention in stable angina (ORBITA): a double-blind, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 2018; 391(10115):31–40.
Not every narrowing seen on an angiogram needs a stent. This large international trial, involving Dr Gerber, tested a quicker technique (iFR) for measuring how much a blockage is actually restricting blood flow, comparing it to the existing gold-standard test. The results showed the newer, faster test was just as safe and effective — and it's now used routinely in cardiac catheter labs to help decide which arteries genuinely need treatment.
Davies JE, Sen S, Dehbi HM, et al (Gerber RT). Use of the instantaneous wave-free ratio or fractional flow reserve in PCI. New England Journal of Medicine, 2017; 376(19):1824–1834.
For patients whose blood pressure remains high despite treatment, this trial examined an alternative approach: a minimally invasive procedure using ultrasound energy to calm overactive nerves around the kidney arteries, which play a role in regulating blood pressure. The trial found meaningful blood pressure reductions in patients who received the procedure compared with those who didn't — helping re-establish this kind of treatment as a genuine option for patients struggling to control their blood pressure with medication alone.
Azizi M, Schmieder RE, Mahfoud F, et al. Endovascular ultrasound renal denervation to treat hypertension (RADIANCE-HTN SOLO): a multicentre, international, single-blind, randomised, sham-controlled trial. The Lancet, 2018; 391(10137):2335–2345.
Some patients' blood pressure stays high even on three different medications at once. This follow-on trial focused specifically on this harder-to-treat group, and confirmed that the same ultrasound-based kidney nerve procedure could still meaningfully lower blood pressure — offering a further option for patients who have run out of easy answers with tablets alone.
Azizi M, Sanghvi K, Saxena M, et al. Ultrasound renal denervation for hypertension resistant to a triple medication pill (RADIANCE-HTN TRIO): a randomised, multicentre, single-blind, sham-controlled trial. The Lancet, 2021; 397(10293):2476–2486.
Patients with diabetes face a higher risk of further heart problems after a heart attack. This study looked at alirocumab, a cholesterol-lowering medication, and found it provided roughly double the protective benefit in patients with diabetes compared with those without — helping guide how aggressively cholesterol should be managed in higher-risk patients after a cardiac event.
Ray KK, Colhoun HM, Szarek M, et al. Effects of alirocumab on cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes after acute coronary syndrome in patients with or without diabetes: a prespecified analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2019; 7(8):618–628.