Bringing Leading-Edge Health Services and Research to Our Communities

October 15, 2021

Dear RBHS Community Members, 

I was proud to join President Holloway, Governor Murphy, Speaker Coughlin, Mayor Cahill, and several other distinguished guests yesterday to break ground on yet another project that will vault New Jersey to the forefront of innovation in clinical and translational research. 

With the help of funding from the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey Innovation & Technology HUB in New Brunswick will be the site of a new Rutgers Translational Research facility and the new home for the initial years of training for Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) students. The HUB will bring together the life sciences industry, higher education institutions, and health systems to revolutionize clinical and translational research, and turn ideas into cures. 

This 550,000-square-foot, $665 million project developed by the New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco), will unite scattered components of RWJMS onto one campus near Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to improve the student experience, enhance holistic medical education, and facilitate clinical experiences across the four years of medical school. The vacated space in Piscataway will then be available for use by other RBHS schools. 

This project complements exciting efforts already under way in Newark to renovate and modernize New Jersey Medical School’s (NJMS) Medical Science Building, which, together with our shared commitment with University Hospital to make major new investments to create a state-of-the-art health care facility, will anchor our academic health center in Newark. These developments will support primary care, modernize operating rooms, expand clinical services for Newark community members, and fortify NJMS’s nationally recognized research program. 

The challenges of the past 18 months only underscore the value and importance of such crucial investments in health care and biomedical research. With our partners in the state, the RWJBarnabas Health System, and University Hospital, RBHS and Rutgers continue to rise to address the needs of our communities while growing the boundaries of achievement in health sciences and patient care for the state of New Jersey. 

These projects significantly advance the RBHS physical master plan, enhance Rutgers’ globally prominent position as a leader in the life sciences, and mark yet another milestone on our journey to build one of the best academic health centers in the nation. 

Thank you all for your contributions to this remarkable progress.  

Sincerely, 

Brian L. Strom, MD, MPH 
Chancellor, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences 
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Rutgers University