The Department of Pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), in collaboration with the Child Health Institute of New Jersey (CHINJ), is seeking outstanding senior researchers across various disciplines, to join a vibrant and growing Department, affiliated with a growing Children’s Service Line at the RWJBarnabas Health system.
Under the leadership of newly recruited Department Chair Dr. Vikas Dharnidharka and with the resources provided by Dean Amy Murtha, the Department aims to break into the top tier of NIH-funded Pediatric Departments. The Department currently has NIH-funded programs in organ transplantation, pediatric cancer, population health services, long COVID, neonatal brain injury, infectious diseases, rheumatologic diseases and developmental disabilities. Additional state-funded research programs exist for HIV, Sudden Infant Death syndrome, newborn screening and nutrition.
Additional child health researchers with interests in immunology and inflammatory disorders, neurosciences, and genetic and metabolic diseases are located in the adjacent Child Health Institute of New Jersey (CHINJ), a 150,000 sq. ft. research and pediatric clinical facility led by Director Dr. Arnold Rabson. The CHINJ has extensive research resources including microscopy, animal facilities, cell culture and disease-modeling capabilities in support of laboratory research. It is also the home of a robust 5,000 square foot space pediatric clinical research center, as well as an active collaborative research program with Pediatrics in population and prevention sciences. Both the Pediatrics Department and the CHINJ have available wet and dry research space, and provide a highly collaborative environment fostering basic, translational and population and prevention-directed research activities.
The inpatient clinical services of the Department of Pediatrics are conducted at the adjacent Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH), New Brunswick, NJ. The Department of Pediatrics has a full complement of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists. Outpatient services are provided at the shared space in the Child Health Institute of New Jersey and nearby locations. Adjacent to the Bristol-Myers-Squibb Children’s Hospital is the PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital which is one of the country’s largest inpatient acute rehabilitation hospitals for children. Across the street is the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey – the only NCI designated center in the state of New Jersey as well as the Ronald MacDonald House.
The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is consistently ranked as one of the highly NIH-funded academic universities. Many adjoining health-related schools and research institutes comprise the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences unit of Rutgers University, which is a member of the Association of American Universities comprising the top research universities in North America. Rutgers University is the state’s premiere institution, with its flagship Arts and Sciences campus also located in New Brunswick in central New Jersey. This proximity provides many opportunities to collaborate across campuses with all the health professional schools and biomedical science schools within the University. The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is merging with the nearby New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. The combined and new Rutgers School of Medicine will have the second largest class size of 340 per year in the USA in Fall 2027 and will offer even greater access to student researchers from both campuses.
The recruited researchers will be committed to the academic mission of Rutgers and RWJMS which includes education across the spectrum of trainees including medical students, postdoctoral students, residents and fellows in the institution.
New Brunswick is located in central New Jersey and is also the worldwide headquarters for the health products giant Johnson and Johnson, Inc. Fourteen of the top 28 pharmaceutical companies have their headquarters in New Jersey. The New Brunswick train station, next to the academic medical center campus, is on the NJ Transit and Amtrak train lines connecting the Northeast cities from Boston to Washington, DC. Among the major cities, New York City is 55 minutes north by train or by the I-95 turnpike and Philadelphia is 75 minutes south by train or car. The areas around New Brunswick offer an excellent lifestyle, with nearby access to the Atlantic seaboard, beaches, museums, concerts, sports and literary events, outdoor hiking and skiing. Newark Liberty International Airport is a mere 30 minutes north and offers flights to all parts of the USA and worldwide.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
It is university policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As an institution, we encourage all qualified applicants to apply. For additional information please see the Non-Discrimination Statement at the following web address: http://uhr.rutgers.edu/non-discrimination-statement
Qualifications:
MD or PhD degree
Eligible for appointment at Professor rank at Rutgers University
Strong track record of peer-reviewed publications and prior/current extramural research funding
Interested candidates should email a cover letter and your CV to:
Vikas Dharnidharka, MD MPH
Chair Department of Pediatrics, RWJMS
Office address: Clinical Academic Building, Rm 7106 1
25 Paterson Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Email: vikas.d@rutgers.edu