Brian L. Strom | |
|---|---|
| Chancellor Brian L. Strom | |
| 1stChancellor of Rutgers Health | |
| In office December 2, 2013 –December 31, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Robert L. Johnson (Interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 8,1949 |
| Spouse | Elaine Strom |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Yale University (B.S.) The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (M.D.) University of California,Berkeley (M.P.H.) |
Brian L. Strom (born December 8,1949) is an American physician,epidemiologist,and academic leader. Beginning in 2013,he served as the inaugural Chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS),later branded as Rutgers Health,and as Executive Vice President for Health Affairs and University Professor at Rutgers University. He is widely recognized as a founder of the field of pharmacoepidemiology and for his contributions to clinical research training,drug safety research,and academic health system creation.
Prior to joining Rutgers,Strom held multiple senior leadership and founding roles at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania,including Executive Vice Dean for Institutional Affairs;Founding Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology;Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB);and Founding Director of the Graduate Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He has authored more than 660 peer-reviewed publications and 18 books and has served as principal investigator on more than 277 research grants. He was named among Best Doctors in America each year during the final eight years of his tenure at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brian Leslie Strom was born on December 8,1949,in New York City. He grew up Floral Park,New York and attended Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village. As an undergraduate,Strom attended Yale University,where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. After graduating,he received his Doctor of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Following his medical internship and residency in Internal Medicine at University of California,San Francisco,he earned a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of California,Berkeley while concurrently serving as an National Institutes of Health Research Fellow in Clinical Pharmacology at the University of California,San Francisco.
Strom joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 [1] . At Penn,he founded the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB),which grew to include more than 550 faculty members,research staff,trainees,and support personnel [2] . At the time he stepped down from leadership,CCEB research funding totaled nearly $49 million annually,with an overall budget of approximately $67 million.
Strom also developed graduate and postgraduate training programs in epidemiology and biostatistics,including a Master of Science program in clinical epidemiology [3] . More than 625 clinicians completed training through these programs,the majority of whom went on to academic or research-focused careers. He served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 11 NIH-funded training grants (including T32,D43,K12,and K30 mechanisms) and was the primary mentor for more than 40 clinical research trainees.
Internationally,Strom was a key contributor to the conceptualization and early development of the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN),founded in 1979 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation to provide clinical research training to clinicians in low- and middle-income countries. Penn was a founding INCLEN training center. During its initial phase (1979–1995),INCLEN supported the establishment of 26 clinical epidemiology units across Latin America,India,Africa,and Southeast Asia.
In 2013,Strom was appointed the inaugural Chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences following the dissolution of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) [4] . RBHS,later rebranded as Rutgers Health,integrated eight schools and seven major centers and institutes,combining academic,research,and clinical enterprises across Rutgers University.
Under Strom’s leadership,Rutgers Health expanded to include approximately 2,500 employed faculty,8,500 staff,1,300 clinical providers,1,700 residents,and 8,000 students,with an annual budget exceeding $2.5 billion. Research funding tripled during his tenure,surpassing $600 million annually and bringing more than $4 billion in extramural research funding to New Jersey. First quarter funding from the National Institutes of Health increased 30% in fiscal year 26,compared to what had been a record fiscal year 25.
When Strom assumed leadership,RBHS faced a projected annual operating deficit of approximately $54 million and a fund balance of $42 million. The organization achieved balanced budgets in every fiscal year following 2014,except for the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and entered fiscal year 2026 with a fund balance of $461 million.
His twelve year tenure was notable for careful financial stewardship;recruitment of a new leadership team;numerous faculty recruitments;clarification of faculty expectations,enhancement of incentives,and broadened mentorship and development opportunities;a new focus on excellence,training,and interprofessional education;revitalized clinical partnerships;extensive promotion of community engagement and service;tremendous growth in research funding,institutional stature,and clinical trials;two strategic plans (2014-21 and 2022-27),with a focus on implementation and evaluation;new branding;a more rational academic,administrative,and financial restructuring of schools,institutes,and centers;new and renovated physical space;and an institutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic that was cited nationally as a model for academic health systems [5] .
Strom's major research interest is in the field of pharmacoepidemiology,i.e.,the application of epidemiologic methods to the study of drug use and effects. He is recognized as a founder of this field and for his pioneer work in using large,automated databases for research. He is editor of the field's major text (now in its seventh edition) [6] and Editor-in-Chief for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety ,the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology. [7] As one of many specific contributions,his research was pivotal in prompting the American Heart Association and American Dental Association to reverse 50 years of guidelines and recommend against use of antibiotics to prevent infective endocarditis,instead of recommending for this widespread practice. In addition to writing more than 660 papers and 18 books,he has been principal investigator for more than 275 grants,including over $115 million in direct costs alone. Strom has been invited to give more than 465 talks outside his local area,including presentations as the keynote speaker for numerous international meetings. He has been a consultant to NIH,FDA,CDC,USP,AAMC,JCAHO,foreign governments,most major pharmaceutical manufacturers,and many law firms.
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