Newswise — Leslie Lenert, an internationally recognized informatics expert, has been named inaugural director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Health Artificial Intelligence (BMIHAI), a unit of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research (IFH). He will also serve as a professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine of the Department of Medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Lenert is a distinguished professor of internal medicine at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and held positions as associate vice president of data science and informatics, chief research information officer and director of the Biomedical Informatics Center during his tenure there. Bringing experience in information technology, artificial intelligence (AI), health policy and public health administration, Lenert was selected for the position after an extensive national search.
Lenert’s research focuses on the application of data science and interoperability tools in health systems. His work has led to the creation of mobile health apps, population health tools and innovative decision support systems that enhance patient engagement and care coordination.
“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Leslie Lenert to Rutgers,” said Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Health. “His leadership will help position the new center at the forefront of the fields of biomedical informatics and health-related AI, nationally and internationally.”
At MUSC, Lenert founded a clinical trials unit supporting remote research and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Network studies, helped found a joint PhD program in data science and biomedical informatics with Clemson University, and led the creation of a statewide quality improvement and research database in South Carolina.
Lenert is an instinctive collaborator who inspires large teams to achieve new levels of success. As the associate director of the South Carolina Translational Research Institute, his leadership was pivotal in securing MUSC’s $26 million in Clinical and Translational Sciences Award in 2025. In 2024, as the lead informatics PI of Science and Technology Research (STAR) Partnership, he helped STAR obtain $26.5 million in funding from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. He also secured in 2024, a $1.2 million equipment grant from the NIH for MUSC’s first shared high performance computing resource.
“Dr. Lenert is a visionary leader who brings a wealth of expertise in biomedical informatics and AI research to Rutgers,” said Tobias Gerhard, director of IFH. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Lenert to the Institute for Health and are confident that he will lead BMIHAI to success through cutting-edge research and new collaborations.”
In addition to his academic and research experience, Lenert was the founding director of the National Center for Public Health Informatics at the Centers for Disease Control and served two terms on the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is an associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
“My career began in medical AI, and it’s exciting to be able to join Rutgers and focus my career on AI in this revolutionary era,” Lenert said. “By combining AI and Learning Health Systems methods with a LivingLabs model of spaces to focus our work on solving real-world problems, our center will aim to transform both science and healthcare – starting in New Jersey, but with impacts that reach far beyond.”
Lenert earned a bachelor of science degree in biomedical sciences from the University of California, Riverside; a medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master of science degree in medical information science from Stanford University. He is board certified in internal medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Medical Informatics.
Backed by funding from the Rutgers Roadmaps for Collective Academic Excellence and with substantial support from the Rutgers Health chancellor’s office, BMIHAI aims to unite health-related educational, training and research efforts involving data science and artificial intelligence under one umbrella.
“Our goal is simple: to put Rutgers on the map as a national and international leader in health AI,” said Antonina Mitrofanova, an associate professor with the Rutgers School of Health Professions. “Through Dr. Lenert’s senior leadership and collaboration, we’ll establish Rutgers as a leader in biomedical data science and health AI, from research to the clinic,” said Evan Johnson, a professor of medicine and the Director of the Center for Data Science at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. David Foran, Chief Information Officer and Director of Biomedical Informatics at Rutgers Cancer Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Chief Research Informatics Officer at Rutgers Health, agrees. “Given the depth and scope of Dr. Lenert’s clinical and research accomplishments and experience, I have every confidence that he will flourish at Rutgers while facilitating collaboration, innovation and discovery,” he said.
Since BMIHAI was established in 2024, the center has received 18 pilot grant applications and 17 postdoctoral collaboration proposals. It hosted seven summer internships, a bootcamp, and two community-building symposiums, establishing groundbreaking industry collaborations. Committees are drafting curricula for new master’s degree and doctoral programs in biomedical informatics and Health AI.
“I deeply appreciate the incredible efforts of my colleagues, Drs. Mitrofanova, Evans and Foran, in laying the foundation for BMIHAI through the Roadmaps program and look forward to working with them and other leaders at Rutgers and RWJBarnabas Health to build BMIHAI into a national center of excellence,” Lenert said.
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