Announcement of Michael E. Zwick as Senior Vice President for Research
June 2, 2021
Dear University Colleagues,
After a successful national search, President Holloway and I are pleased to announce that we will be appointing Professor Michael E. Zwick of Emory University as the new Senior Vice President for Research for Rutgers, effective September 1, 2021, following Board of Governors approval.
Excellence in the pursuit of discovery and breakthroughs in knowledge—whether in the humanities and the arts, the STEM and allied professions, or health care—forms the core of academic scholarship at Rutgers. Amplifying our standing and becoming more widely world-class in our research domains will require persistent attention to building research infrastructure, aligning our faculty hiring with strategic goals, and leveraging our research and academic accomplishments to further our reputation. As we launched the SVPR search, we shared that we were seeking a leader who can further elevate Rutgers’ research in breadth, stature, and substance. We and the search committee and academic leadership are confident that Dr. Zwick is well-prepared to stimulate collaborative leadership and strengthen infrastructure to foster the changes needed to realize Rutgers’ full potential.
Michael E. Zwick received a B.S. from Cornell University in Biological Sciences and earned his Ph.D. in Population Biology at the University of California at Davis. Dr. Zwick has served as Associate Vice President for Research of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center at Emory University and Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Human Genetics and Pediatrics in the Emory University School of Medicine. Trained as an experimental population geneticist in both the Drosophila and human systems, his research uses principles of genetics and bioinformatics to discover the causes of rare and common disorders. Dr. Zwick has had continuous NIH funding since 2005, and his research has pursued diverse areas of human disease that include autism, dystonia, congenital heart defects, early-onset inflammatory bowel disease, biliary atresia, and schizophrenia.
Dr. Zwick’s current projects include being the PI of the All of Us Research Program at Emory, which is helping to recruit a million-person cohort to advance the goals of precision medicine. He also co-chairs the membership committee for the Autism Sequencing Consortium. As AVP for Research, Dr. Zwick spearheaded the concept of Emory Integrated Core Facilities, a team of 135 scientists and technical staff that directly supports Emory researchers with external yearly research funding exceeding $831 million in FY 2020. Dr. Zwick is also a former surface warfare qualified officer in the United States Navy, having retired in June 2017 with 25 years of service.
We are grateful to Dr. Kathleen Scotto, for leading the Office for Research as our interim SVPR since April 1, 2021. She will work closely with Dr. Zwick to enable a smooth and seamless transition as he moves to New Jersey and joins the Rutgers community. We are also immensely thankful to the search committee, which drew upon the rich diversity of our disciplines and campuses and reviewed a strong pool of candidates.
Dr. Zwick will report to me and will be a member of the President’s senior leadership cabinet. He will work closely with the Chancellors and the academic leaders and researchers on the four campuses to continue elevating our research agenda and help us take our rightful place among the very best academic institutions in the country, and indeed, the world.
Sincerely,
Prabhas V. Moghe, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Distinguished Professor