 Returning to the United States, Gifford settled in Omaha, NE, were, with his wife Mary at his side, he went on to become one of the city's most prominent surgeons.In 1879, Gifford graduated from Cornell University and went on to become 'Assistant to the Professor of Materia Medica and Ophthalmic and Aural Surgery' at the University of Michigan where he obtained his PhD in ophthalmology in 1882.Shortly thereafter, he continued his post-graduate work, briefly in New York before traveling to Europe.