Thomas Gildea, MD
Interventional Pulmonology
Highlights
Age Groups Seen
- Adult
Languages
- English
Gender
MaleAbout Thomas Gildea
Biography
Thomas Robert Gildea, MD, FCCP, FACP was appointed to Cleveland Clinic in 2003 to Department of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine & Transplant Center.
He has been board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease and critical care medicine. As a Chief Resident in the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine residency, he went to Russia in a faculty exchange program to lecture and demonstrate American medical team structure and the basics of clinical epidemiology.
He has advanced training in interventional and advanced diagnostic bronchoscopy, which was part of his fellowship training at Cleveland Clinic. His clinical interests span the realm of advanced lung diseases, including lung volume reduction, lung transplantation, pulmonary arterial hypertension and are most focused on advanced diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy.
Dr. Gildea was the first physician in North America to perform electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy. He was given an Innovator Award at Cleveland Clinic in 2006 with his team proposing a novel device for a bronchoscopy needle-delivered fiducial lung implant. He has been named one of the Best Doctors in America since 2007. He also received a physician development award by the Alpha-1 Foundation to study lung function changes after lung transplantation. In 2010 he completed a Master's degree at Case Western Reserve in Clinical Research. He was granted an NIH-NCAI grant for work on a custom 3D printing process for airway stents. He is the Section Head of Bronchology in the Respiratory Institute and leads a team of dedicated Interventional Pulmonologists.
An invited lecturer at national and international medical meetings, Dr. Gildea is recognized expert in the field on interventional pulmonary medicine. Dr. Gildea serves on scientific advisory boards from several medical companies involved with innovation for bronchoscopy techniques and devices and sits on several boards and committees of national specialty societies.
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Education & Board Certifications
Education
- Graduate School: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2010
- Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic, 2003
- Residency: Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2000
- Medical Education: MCP Hahnemann University School of Medicine, 1996
- Undergraduate: University of Scranton, 1992
Board Certifications
- Pulmonary Disease: American Board of Internal Medicine, 2002
Professional Highlights
Additional Training
- Clinical Research Scholars Program, Case Western Reserve University, Masters in Clinical Research program
Awards
- D. Robert McCaffree, MD, Master FCCP Humanitarian Award
- Best Doctors in America, 2007-2016
- Physician Development Award, Alpha-1 Foundation, 2006-2008
- Finalist, 2004 CHEST Foundation Best Poster in Category Award
- Clinical Research Award Finalist, American College of Chest Physicians, Chest Foundation, 2002
Professional Memberships
Innovations & Patents
- First physician in North America to perform electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy
- NIH-NCAI Custom Airway
- Provisional Patents filed for Stent Manipulation Device
Research & Publications
See publications for this provider. (Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Industry Relationships
Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists collaborate with industry to advance medical breakthroughs. These partnerships help commercialize discoveries for public benefit while maintaining scientific integrity. To ensure transparency and minimize potential bias, Cleveland Clinic reviews these relationships and publicly discloses when physicians/scientists receive significant compensation for consulting, serve in fiduciary roles, receive royalties, or hold equity interests related to their work. We manage potential conflicts through approval processes, annual reporting, and targeted management plans.
As of 2025-01-29, Dr. Gildea has reported the financial relationships with the companies listed below.
Equity Dr. Gildea owns stock or stock options in the following companies for activities as a founder, inventor, discoverer, developer:
- VisionAir Solutions, LLC, formerly NewCOS, Inc.
Consulting and/or Speaking. Dr. Gildea receives fees of $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) as a paid consultant, speaker or as a member of an advisory committee for the following companies:
- Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Right to Future Distribution of Cleveland Clinic Financial Interest. Dr. Gildea may receive future financial benefits from the Cleveland Clinic for inventions or discoveries commercialized through the companies shown below:
- VisionAir Solutions, LLC, formerly NewCOS, Inc.
Fiduciary Role. Dr. Gildea serves in a fiduciary capacity, such as an elected officer, director or chief medical officer, for the following companies or other entities:
- VisionAir Solutions, LLC, formerly NewCOS, Inc.
Royalty Payments. Dr. Gildea receives or has the right to receive royalty payments for inventions or discoveries commercialized through the companies shown below:
- VisionAir Solutions, LLC, formerly NewCOS, Inc.
Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.
* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.