Dr. Gardner began his formal medical education at the University of California, Irvine, where he graduated at the top of his class with Alpha Omega Alpha Honors. He went on to perform his internship in Internal Medicine at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. He then performed his residency at the prestigious Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. There he was elected as Chief Resident and received the Residency Research Award in Excimer Laser technology. This qualified him to be selected for a Fellowship in Corneal and Refractive Surgery at Louisiana State University, where the first excimer laser procedure in the world was performed on a sighted eye. While there, he participated in the FDA investigational trials on the excimer laser. He has published papers and written chapters on laser vision correction and diseases of the cornea.

Dr. Gardner shares 5 beautiful children with his wife, Tammy, and 7 grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his family and doing fun activities including skiing, tennis, hiking, biking, golf and travelling.