Rutgers Leaders Are Recognized as Most Influential Health Care Leaders in New Jersey
Business journal NJBIZ’s list includes a chancellor, deans, director of a cancer institute and the leader of the state’s poison control center
Leaders from Rutgers Health were recognized by the business journal NJBIZ on its 2025 NJBIZ Health Care Power List, which identifies the top influencers in health care in New Jersey.
Recognized on the list of 61 health care leaders were:
- Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Health
- Robert Johnson, dean of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
- Steven Libutti, the William N. Hait director of Rutgers Cancer Institute and the senior vice president of oncology services, RWJBarnabas Health
- Perry N. Halkitis, dean of Rutgers School of Public Health
- Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center based at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
The list included Mark Manigan, president and chief executive of one of Rutgers University’s clinical partners, RWJBarnabas Health.
The Rutgers Health leaders were lauded for their roles in educating the nation’s next generation of health care providers; for their partnerships in advancing biomedical research and treatment of disease, informing the public on health risks and influencing policy that will save lives; and supporting the New Jersey Health + Life Science Exchange (HELIX) in New Brunswick, N.J.
“The acknowledgement of these outstanding Rutgers leaders reinforces the impact that our university is having in training top-notch medical professionals, treating cancer and other diseases, preventing public health crises and ensuring statewide access to excellent health care,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said. “I congratulate our Rutgers Health team and thank them for the work they do every day to advance the health and well-being of our state’s residents and the world.”
In making its selection, NJBIZ wrote that Strom, as the inaugural chancellor of Rutgers Health and executive vice president for health affairs at Rutgers, “has brought significant growth to the program,” citing his work in uniting the university’s clinical care programs as a single entity and establishing an affiliation with RWJBarnabas Health in 2018. With eight schools and 11 major centers and institutes as well as academic, patient care and research facilities, Strom directs the state’s largest and most comprehensive academic health system.
NJBIZ noted Strom recently celebrated milestones, including the 25th anniversary of Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, which has established and led research initiatives focused on population health, health care access and coverage in partnership with state departments and agencies. Another recent milestone was the topping-off ceremony on the first of three buildings in the HELIX, which will house the future Rutgers School of Medicine and Rutgers translational research.
Johnson – noted as the “first leader to oversee two medical schools at the same time” while serving as interim dean of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School – was cited for his leadership in educating the next generation of health care workers at a time of national shortage. Johnson also was noted as a 2021 recipient of the NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Lifetime Achievement Award.
Libutti was selected for his leadership at the Rutgers Cancer Institute, which together with RWJBarnabas Health, retained its status as the state’s only National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also was recognized for overseeing the opening of the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, a 520,000-square-foot facility in New Brunswick that will accommodate inpatient and outpatient treatment, research laboratories, retail space and ancillary services. It will be the state’s first free-standing cancer hospital. The journal also noted the opening this year of a $225 million cancer center, which will serve as the northern hub of Rutgers Cancer Institute.
Halkitis was credited by the journal for using his expertise as an infectious disease epidemiologist, applied statistician and public health psychologist to further research, teaching and activism and “serve as an expert voice and source – appearing frequently across the media spectrum.” A prolific writer, whose body of work includes authoring six books and 300 peer-reviewed academic articles, Halkitis is currently finalizing his newest book: Humanizing Public Health: How Disease-Centered Approaches Have Failed Us.
Calello was recognized for her leadership as the executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES) — also known as the New Jersey Poison Control Center — which annually assists about 50,000 residents, first responders and health care providers with medical treatment advice and guidance on best practices for unintentional and intentional poison exposures.
The journal noted: “Beyond its core mission and under Calello’s leadership, the poison center plays a vital role in addressing emergent public health crises across the state.” This was most recently seen in an outbreak detected at NJPIES of poisoning from the drug tianeptine, in which swift action at NJPIES prompted a Food and Drug Administration warning, legislative action, and statewide consumer and healthcare alerts to stop the sales of contaminated product.
