Robert Johnson

Listen to this article

As dean of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School since 2005, Johnson steered the institution through a variety of accomplishments, including joining NJMS with Rutgers, creating the Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases to pursue novel approaches to detecting, treating, and preventing a wide range of current and emerging diseases, and positioning NJMS to become — and remain — the state’s leading recipient of funding from the federal National Institutes of Health.

Since October 2018, Johnson has also served as interim dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, aligning the administrative teams of both institutions while furthering collaborative initiatives within the schools and among departments.

He guided the integration of the Rutgers Health clinical enterprise in New Brunswick, where the faculty provide care, into the combined medical group with RWJBarnabas Health.

Research publications and grant funding also increased significantly during Johnson’s tenure, and a new medical education curriculum was developed during the height of the pandemic and implemented at the beginning of this academic year. Under his leadership, faculty at both NJMS and RWJMS made significant contributions to advancing treatment and scientific knowledge in regard to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

Both medical schools played a significant role in the community health response to the pandemic, including care for patients, conducting clinical trials, and vaccine development and
distribution.