2024 Rutgers Health Chancellor Awardees

September 9, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

The Office of the Chancellor is very pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Rutgers Health Chancellor Awards. These annual awards were established in 2020 to acknowledge and celebrate the extraordinary work of our faculty and staff.

In addition to these important recognitions, awardees will be honored during an October 2024 celebratory event.

A special thank you to all the nominators and those who participated on the review committees. There were many highly qualified nominees for these recognitions, so the selection committees had a challenging task. It’s important to highlight that a nomination in and of itself is an important form of recognition by a coworker, colleague, mentee, or unit director.

Please join us in congratulating the following honorees of 2024:

Faculty Awards

Excellence in Basic Sciences Research Award 

For significant contributions, by an early career investigator and an established investigator, to impactful basic science or translational research at Rutgers Health.

Early Career

• Jian Cao (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Established Investigator

• Wei-Xing Zong (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Professor, John L. Colaizzi Chair in Pharmacy, Department of Chemical Biology
• Subhajyoti De (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Associate Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
• Daniel Herranz (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Associate Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Pediatric

Excellence in Clinical or Health Sciences Research Award

For significant contributions, by an early career or established investigator, to impactful clinical or health sciences research at Rutgers Health.

Early Career

• Slawa Rokicki (School of Public Health), Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy
• Denalee O'Malley (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

Established Investigator

• Nina Cooperman (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Excellence in Clinical or Healthcare Delivery Award     

For significant contributions to provide excellence in clinical or healthcare delivery at Rutgers Health or an affiliated facility.

• Amy S. Pappert (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Dermatology)
• Jacqueline Fleming (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics

Excellence in Community Service Award

For significant contributions and leading efforts at Rutgers Health to serve external communities and be committed in service to others.

• Lucio R. Volino (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Clinical Professor and Director of Assessment, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
• Karen Wei-Ru Lin (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Associate Dean for Global Health and Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health

Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award

For significant contributions at Rutgers Health to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in teaching, scholarship, or service, including clinical care.

• Humberto R. Jimenez (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
• Haejin In (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Excellence in Education and Teaching Award

For significant contributions at Rutgers Health to education, teaching, and training.

• James Scott Parrott (School of Health Professions), Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
• Kyeongra Yang (School of Nursing), Associate Professor, Division of Entry to Baccalaureate Nursing

Distinguished Educator Award

For exceptional, sustained contributions at Rutgers Health to education, teaching, and training.

• Laura E. Liang (School of Public Health), Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor, Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy

Distinguished Mentor Award

For exceptional, sustained contributions at Rutgers Health to mentoring of postdoctoral and/or clinical fellows, junior faculty, staff, and/or mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.

• Paul R. Duberstein (School of Public Health) Professor and Chair, Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy

Staff Awards

Excellence in Staff Mentoring Award    

For significant contributions to staff mentoring at Rutgers Health.

• Debra Pittman (New Jersey Medical School), Program Administrator, Office of Faculty Affairs
• Deena Centofanti (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Oncology Nurse Education Specialist, Clinic Oncology Education Department

Emerging Leader Award

For an emerging staff leader who demonstrates a high potential for success through significant contributions to Rutgers Health.

• Roger Thornton (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Assistant Director, Office of Faculty and Staff Affairs 

Leadership Award

For a staff leader who demonstrates exemplary leadership through significant ongoing and sustained contributions to Rutgers Health.   

• Kent Mathisen (New Jersey Medical School), Associate Dean for Clinical Operations, Office of Clinical Affairs

Team Award

For exceptional contributions of a high-performing staff team to carry out work in at least one of the Rutgers Health mission areas.

• School of Nursing Student Advising Center
  • Donnell Pierre, Associate Director of Student Advisement
  • Traci Cummings-McGreal, Student Counselor
  • Brittany Robischon, Director of Student Advisement

Sustained Service Award

For significant and sustained contributions to quality service that supports at least one of the mission areas at Rutgers Health.

• Patricia Dooley Budsock (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), Program Manager, Division of Addiction Psychiatry 
• Jennifer Savarese (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Senior Scheduler and Pediatric Patient Liaison
• Michael P. Kane (Rutgers Cancer Institute), Executive Director, Oncology Pharmacy Services
• Rhonda Barnes (School of Public Health), Admissions Coordinator

And, to cap off all the special awards:

Lifetime Distinguished Service Award for Staff

For exceptional, distinguished service to Rutgers Health through extraordinary, transformative, and/or significant lifetime contributions to the institution.

• Sally Marshall (Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine), Building Manager

Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award for Faculty

For a sustained and distinguished lifetime record of achievement in at least one of the Rutgers Health mission areas of clinical care, education, research, and community engagement.

• Jeffrey D. Laskin (School of Public Health), Distinguished Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice, and Director of the Division of Toxicology at Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI)
• Tamara Minko (Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy), Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutics

Congratulations to all the honorees and thank you so much, again, to all those who took the time to make and review the nominations.

Sincerely,

Bishr Omary
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research
Rutgers Health

Brian Strom
Chancellor, Rutgers Health
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Rutgers University