Rutgers University on Tuesday said it named Leslie Lenert, an internationally recognized expert in informatics, as the first director of its newly established Center for Biomedical Informatics and Health Artificial Intelligence (BMIHAI). The center, a unit of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research (IFH), aims to consolidate health-related data science and AI efforts under one umbrella.
Lenert, who will also serve as a professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was selected after an extensive national search. His career has focused on applying data science and interoperability tools to healthcare systems, leading to the creation of mobile health apps and other innovative tools that enhance patient care.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Leslie Lenert to Rutgers,” Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Health said. “His leadership will help position the new center at the forefront of the fields of biomedical informatics and health-related AI, nationally and internationally.”
Before joining Rutgers, Lenert was a distinguished professor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), where he held multiple leadership roles, including associate vice president of data science and informatics. At MUSC, he was instrumental in securing millions of dollars in research funding and helped found a joint PhD program in data science and biomedical informatics.
Lenert expressed his excitement to return to his roots in medical AI. “Our center will aim to transform both science and healthcare – starting in New Jersey, but with impacts that reach far beyond,” he said.
