The New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH) began in November 2008 with a $10 million capital award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Rutgers University Foundation to help Rutgers create a research institute that leveraged the university's rich history in the areas of Agriculture, Food Systems, Nutrition and Health. Established under the co-directorship of former Rutgers Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Philip Furmanski and former SEBS Executive Dean Dr. Robert Goodman, the institute was designated a "Signature Initiative" by Rutgers' 19th president, Dr. Richard McCormick, as part of the Our Rutgers, Our Future capital campaign. The institute officially opened its doors on the G. H. Cook Campus in October 2015. Its founding director, Dr. Peter Gillies, served from March 2010 to September 2018. Dr. Gloria Dominguez-Bello became interim and then director of IFNH in 2018. During her tenure, she established the annual Research Day featuring joint activities of center members. In 2023, Dr. Wendie Cohick, then Dean of Research, was appointed to serve as interim director of IFNH through 2024 and initiated a revisioning process. In 2025, Dr. Josh Kohut, then Dean of Research, was appointed to serve as interim director of IFNH.
The initial institute was organized around several existing centers that were aligned with the mission, with broad faculty membership spanning SEBS and other Rutgers units, including RBHS. These centers included the Rutgers Center for Lipid Research; Center for Nutrition, Microbiome, and Health; Center for Human Nutrition, Exercise, and Metabolism (NEXT); and the Center for Childhood Nutrition Research. The Rutgers Center for Agricultural Food Ecosystems (RUCAFE) was later added to support faculty engagement in community food security and food systems research.
In 2024, SEBS initiated a visioning process to identify new strategic areas of research that align with the Rutgers New–Brunswick Academic Master Plan and the mission of SEBS/NJAES. The process has been organized around four broad themes of inquiry: digestive health; environmental influences on food, nutrition, and health; food as medicine/precision nutrition; and health across the lifespan. SEBS academic chairs served as “champions” of the initiative and helped identify faculty to serve on a task force to provide feedback. This process is ongoing with a goal to be complete in 2025.
Founding Principles
The institute is guided by the following organizational principles and core values:
TIMELINE of the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health
| 2008 | University commits to establish institute Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commits $10 million to the building of the institute Anonymous donor endows $10 million to establish research fund |
| 2010 | New Jersey IFNH is founded in temporary quarters on the G.H. Cook Campus with Dr. Peter J. Gillies as founding director |
| 2012 | New Jersey’s Building Our Future Bond Act of 2012 commits $35 million in capital support Rutgers Board of Governors (BOG) approves design of new building First six pilot grants are awarded to research faculty |
| 2013 | Construction contract awarded by BOG and the IFNH building groundbreaking ceremony takes place on August 30 |
| 2015 | 80,000 square-foot interdisciplinary research facility officially opens in October |
| 2016 | Opening of Harvest Café, with Ian Keith as the founding chef |
| 2017 | Harvest Café serves as a model for healthier food choices for students as Rutgers Dining joins Menus of Change, a collaborative of research universities led by Stanford and the Culinary Institute of America |
| 2018 | Launches New Jersey Healthy Kids Initiative (NJHKI) with $3 million grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to focus on improving the health of New Jersey children, in partnership with Child Health Institute of New Jersey Named one of New Jersey’s 25 Must-See Buildings by USA Today Travel, which asked American Institute of Architects (AIA) chapters across the country to name 25 structures visitors should see in their respective state Dr. Gloria Dominguez-Bello is appointed Interim Director |
| 2019 | Launch of first annual Research Day featuring joint activities of center members |
| 2020 | Dr. Gloria Dominguez-Bello appointed Director |
| 2023 | Dr. Wendie Cohick, Dean of Research, serves as Interim Director |
| 2024 | Visioning process is initiated |
| 2025 | SEBS receives Chancellor Challenge grant to develop a pilot student wellness center in IFNH building 10th anniversary of the opening of IFNH Dr. Josh Kohut, Dean of Research, serves as Interim Director |
