About the Department of Pharmacology

The Rutgers Health graduate programs in New Brunswick/Piscataway, New Jersey provide personalized academic support for master's, PhD, and MD/PhD, and certificate programs to prepare graduate students for success.

More About Biomedical and Health Science Graduate Programs

Faculty members affiliated with the Department of Pharmacology bring a range of expertise to their roles as scientists and educators. Trained in a variety of disciplines, our faculty conducts research in multiple areas that impact the field of pharmacology, including signaling and gene expression; host-pathogen interactions; genetics, metabolism, and liver disease; ion channel pharmacology; cancer biology and pharmacology; translational pharmacology; therapeutic target identification; and drug discovery. Faculty research programs are supported by extramural support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, New Jersey Commission for Cancer Research, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and numerous other foundations and agencies, as well as through corporate research contracts. The scientists and scholars affiliated with our department are recognized for their contributions to the scientific research enterprise and serve on national and international grant review panels, editorial and advisory boards. 

Faculty members in the department are committed to teaching the discipline of pharmacology: basic principles as well as the mechanisms by which drugs and other agents act to bring about therapeutic responses. To accomplish this task, we collaborate with faculty in other basic science and clinical departments to teach interdisciplinary courses spanning the first and second years of medical school. In addition, our faculty members lend their expertise in the areas of biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, and physiology to the teaching of medical and graduate students. 

Our faculty members are committed to training and preparing the next generation of scientists for careers in academic and industrial research settings, teaching, and public service. Faculty members in the department are active participants of multiple graduate programs that collaborate to offer a stimulating training experience for students pursuing the PhD degree. In addition, the department hosts post-doctoral fellows, research scientists and undergraduate students from Rutgers and other institutions, which creates an engaging learning and research environment for all. Through the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies, our faculty lead and teach courses for students in a variety of PhD programs as well as programs for students interested in earning a master’s degree. 

Candidates interested in pursuing a PhD degree in Pharmacology, or a related discipline, are invited to visit the website for the Graduate Programs in Molecular Biosciences, which serves as an entry portal for the Graduate Programs in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Physiology and Integrative Biology and Cell and Developmental Biology.

Debabrata Banerjee
Professor Emeritus
E-mail: banerjed@rutgers.edu

N. Ronald Morris, MD
Professor Emeritus
E-mail: morrisnr@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Patricia K. Sonsalla, PhD 
Professor Emeritus
E-mail: sonsalla@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Maxim Dorovkov, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 
Phone: 732-235-3236
E-mail: dorovkma@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Gaetan Barbet, PhD
The Child Health Institute of New Jersey 
Assistant Professor for the Department of Pediatrics
Phone: 732-235-0608
Email: gb503@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Lea Ann Chen, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology
Phone: 732-507-2313
E-mail: leaann.chen@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Lisa K. Denzin, PhD
The Child Health Institute of New Jersey 
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-9604 
E-mail: denzinlk@rwjms.rutgers.edu

Zhaohui Feng, PhD
Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ 
Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-8814
E-mail: fengzh@cinj.rutgers.edu

Shridar Ganesan, PhD
Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ 
Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-5211
E-mail: ganesash@cinj.rutgers.edu

Panos Georgopoulos, PhD
Rutgers University – School of Public Health
EOHSI – Exposure Science and Epidemiology
Professor
Phone: 848-445-0159
E-mail:  panosg@ccl.rutgers.edu

Wenwei Hu, PhD
Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-8061
E-mail:  wh221@cinj.rutgers.edu

Joseph A. Jude, B.V.Sc, PhD
Child Health Institute of NJ
Assistant Research Professor 
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-8057
E-mail:  joseph.antonyjude@rutgers.edu

Derek Sant'Angelo, PhD
The Child Health Institute of New Jersey 
Chief, Developmental Biology 
Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-9394 
E-mail:  santandb@rwjms.rutgers.edu 

Zhiyuan Shen, PhD
Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ
Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology 
Phone: 732-235-6101
E-mail: shenzh@cinj.rutgers.edu

Bing Xia, PhD
Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ
Professor of Radiation Oncology and Pharmacology
Phone: 732-235-7410
E-mail: xiabi@cinj.rutgers.edu

• Bonnie Bassler, PhD - Adjunct Professor
• Kenneth Breslauer, PhD - Adjunct Professor
• Alexander Eichholz, PhD - Emeritus Professor
• John Kerrigan, PhD - Adjunct Associate Professor
• Vladyslav Kholodovych, PhD - Adjunct Assistant Professor
• Siang-Yo Lin, PhD - Adjunct Assistant Professor
• N. Ronald Morris, MD - Emeritus Professor
• Steven Nadler, PhD - Adjunct Professor
• Md Shah Nur-E-Kamal, PhD - Adjunct Assistant Professor
• Haiyan Qi, PhD - Adjunct Associate Professor
• Weida Tong, PhD - Adjunct Associate Professor
• Chi Kwan Tsang, PhD - Assistant Professor
• Kenneth Valenzano, PhD - Adjunct Assistant Professor
• Jinn Wu, PhD - Adjunct Professor
• Guofeng You, PhD - Adjunct Associate Professor

Tenure-Track Faculty Positions in Pharmacology

The three basic science departments at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School seek outstanding candidates for tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor to fill multiple new faculty positions. We are seeking creative and promising scientists to join the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, or the Department of Pharmacology.

The medical school is home to a large group of interactive and collegial faculty with federally funded research programs in broad areas of biomedical science. The basic science departments are well integrated into a large, highly collaborative research community across the schools and departments of Rutgers University with multiple centers of excellence. Medical School faculty have access to interdisciplinary, PhD-level graduate training programs and outstanding core facilities including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, genome editing, confocal microscopy, human neuroimaging, and cryo-EM, among others. Rutgers is also affiliated with the largest university-spinoff biorepository and is home to the Protein Data Bank.

The Department of Pharmacology welcomes candidates with expertise in research areas that will augment existing strengths in the department, including candidates employing cutting-edge computational approaches. Trained in a variety of disciplines, department faculty conduct research in cell signaling and growth control, gene expression, ‘omics approaches to cancer and age-related disease, host-pathogen interactions, the genetic basis of disease, metabolic and liver disease, ion channel pharmacology, cancer and translational pharmacology, therapeutic target development, and drug discovery.

Qualified candidates must have a PhD, MD, MD/PhD or equivalent graduate degree, postdoctoral experience, a demonstrated record of significant research achievement, the potential to make substantial contributions as an independent investigator, and a commitment to teaching graduate and medical students on topics in the Biomedical Sciences. Junior candidates with independent funding or grants under review are preferred. Mid-level candidates are expected to have a successful history of funding. Salary and academic rank are commensurate with experience; excellent benefits and highly competitive startup packages are offered. 

Applicants should submit:

1. a letter of interest directed to the Faculty Search Committee;
2. a curriculum vitae;
3. a one-page summary of important contributions to science;
4. a two-page description of future research plans;
5. a statement describing their approach to inclusive teaching and integrating diversity in pursuit of academic excellence; and
6. full contact information for at least three references.

All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of all pre-employment screenings.

Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2023 and continue until the positions are filled. Timely submission of all materials, including confidential letters submitted directly by three referees, is highly recommended for full consideration.

Application Link

For questions related to recruitment, please specify the department(s) of interest in the subject line and contact rwjmsbasicscience@rwjms.rutgers.edu.

Life at Rutgers

Rutgers is located at the center of the Northeast corridor, with access to New York City, Philadelphia, and the New Jersey shore within an hour. The region is home to world-class universities, numerous pharmaceutical and biotech research facilities, and corporate headquarters. Piscataway and the surrounding areas in Central New Jersey offer vibrant and diverse cultural activities, excellent public and private schools, and opportunities to live in urban, suburban, or small-town settings within a short distance of campus.

Rutgers is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are deeply committed to increasing diversity and especially encourage applications from persons with disabilities, women, veterans, and minority scholars. 

Explore Life at Rutgers