Newswise — Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD, dean of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has appointed Arnold B. Rabson, MD, professor of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, as the second director of the Child Health Institute of New Jersey (CHINJ). Dr. Rabson has served as the interim director for CHINJ since 2007 and was previously deputy director of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
"Dr. Rabson has the vision and the ability to develop The Child Health Institute of New Jersey into a preeminent center for biomedical research," states Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD, dean of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "Under his leadership, the institute now has a new scientific direction to discern the pathogenesis, treatment and ultimately cures for childhood diseases."
The mission of the Child Health Institute of New Jersey is to provide leadership and research that will contribute to the betterment of children's health. As a research institute, the CHINJ will contribute knowledge and understanding of childhood illnesses that will span basic research and clinical trials that will translate into the improvement in the prevention and treatment of disease.
"Dr. Rabson brings the extensive research and scientific expertise needed to help CHINJ improve child health and the quality of life," said Roger S. Fine, chair of the CHINJ Board. "Under his leadership we look forward to making major and lasting progress in conquering childhood diseases."
Construction of the Child Health Institute of New Jersey was completed in 2005, thus creating the children's academic health campus that forges the scientific and outpatient clinical programs at the institute with the inpatient care at the Bristol-Myers-Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the PSE&G Children's Specialized Hospital. This partnership is an unparalleled resource that offers a seamless continuum of care for New Jersey families.
"As director of the Child Institute of New Jersey, I have a unique and exciting opportunity to build a highly interactive center of extraordinary quality, at the forefront of basic discovery and clinical application of research for the treatment and prevention of diseases, such as asthma, juvenile onset diabetes, childhood cancers, autism and metabolic and endocrine disorders," says Dr. Rabson.
Dr. Rabson earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University and performed his residency training in anatomic pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard Medical School. He then accepted a position at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) before joining UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as a resident member of The Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. In 1997, Dr. Rabson was appointed as the associate director for the basic sciences at the medical school's Cancer Institute of New Jersey and was then appointed deputy director in 2005. In addition, Dr. Rabson has served as the interim senior associate dean for research at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
"One of the Child Health Institute's strongest initiatives is to serve as a catalyst for basic science and clinical activities in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics where more than 20,000 youngsters are treated annually," reports Dr. Rabson. "The Department of Pediatrics includes subspecialists who provide inpatient and outpatient treatment that did not exist previously in New Jersey for children with cancer, cardiac disease, cystic fibrosis and other life-threatening illnesses, as well as for neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, the relationship with the Bristol-Myers-Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the PSE&G Children's Specialized Hospital will enhance the clinical focus of the institute and the well-being of New Jersey's youngest residents. "
Dr. Rabson's research interests focus on immune, infectious and inflammatory disorders as well as leukemias and lymphomas, all important diseases of childhood. He has served on numerous editorial boards, national grant review panels and study sections, including service as chair of the Cancer Molecular Pathobiology study section of NIH, and is well published in AIDS and cancer research. His professional associations include memberships in the American Society of Microbiology, the American Society of Hematology, the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society for Investigative Pathology.
About UMDNJ-ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL
As one of the nation’s leading comprehensive medical schools, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal affiliate, they comprise New Jersey’s premier academic medical center. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.
As one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with 2,800 full-time and volunteer faculty, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School encompasses 22 basic science and clinical departments, hosts centers and institutes including The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. The medical school maintains educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels for more than 1,500 students on its campuses in New Brunswick, Piscataway, and Camden, and provides continuing education courses for health care professionals and community education programs. To learn more about UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, log on to rwjms.umdnj.edu. Find our fan page on www.facebook.com/RWJMS and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/UMDNJ_RWJMS.
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