Rutgers Health

11/10/2025

Young sexual minority men face significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance use than their heterosexual peers. A three-year analysis by Rutgers Health researchers links these disparities to discrimination, stigma, and chronic stress.

“Discrimination had the largest impact on the severity of all mental health outcomes,” says Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health and senior author of the study. “This may be because of the external nature of discrimination, which is less controllable by the individual compared to the other, more internal-facing stressors.”

“These findings reinforce the public health implications that discrimination and stress have on driving substance use and mental health disparities among vulnerable populations.”

11/10/2025

11/05/2025

Rutgers School of Nursing has joined forces with the Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib College for Knowledge in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to strengthen the global nursing workforce amid rising healthcare demands.

During a three-day visit to and Rutgers University—Newark campuses, leaders from the newly established Saudi nursing college met with Rutgers faculty and administrators to explore academic models, clinical partnerships and student support systems.

The visit also included the signing of a memorandum of understanding that outlines four primary areas of collaboration: faculty development, curriculum innovation, student and faculty exchange and the design of future postgraduate nursing programs.

“Health care challenges transcend borders,” said Angela Starkweather, dean and professor of the Rutgers School of Nursing.

“By sharing knowledge, research and innovation, we can prepare nurses everywhere to meet the needs of their communities – and, in doing so, improve health outcomes globally."

11/04/2025

Angela Zhao and Hailey Sulzbach have been named this year’s Chancellor’s Scholars, a prestigious honor recognizing academic excellence, leadership, service, and research.

From rowing at Princeton to volunteering as an EMT during the pandemic, these two first-year med students bring compassion, resilience, and vision to their journey to becoming physician leaders.

As part of the scholarship, Sulzbach and Zhao will engage in a structured faculty-mentored enrichment program and serve as role models in the medical school community.

Learn more about these two outstanding students: go.rutgers.edu/85q6r9y4

10/27/2025

Researchers from Rutgers Health and other institutions have discovered why a powerful leukemia drug eventually stops working in many patients – and found a potential way to overcome that resistance.

The team found that a specific protein enables cancer cells to reshape their energy-producing mitochondria, helping them resist venetoclax (brand name Venclexta), a standard treatment for acute myeloid leukemia that often loses effectiveness after prolonged use.

By blocking this protein with experimental compounds in preclinical models, researchers were able to restore the drug’s effectiveness and improve treatment outcomes.

Blocking structural changes may restore the effectiveness of the cancer drug venetoclax, according to Rutgers Health researchers and others

10/24/2025

Rutgers Health scientists have discovered a major breakthrough that could transform how asthma is identified and monitored.

Learn more: go.rutgers.edu/asthma-research

10/23/2025

10/23/2025

10/22/2025

Rutgers Health and RWJBarnabas Health researchers have developed new AI technology that transforms basic ECG readings into detailed heart motion signals like those normally obtained from costly echocardiograms.

“When risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes or coronary artery disease start affecting the heart muscle, conventional measurements in ECG-detectable changes come very late,” says Partho Sengupta, senior study author and chief of cardiology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

“The synthetic ultrasound can detect subtle longitudinal changes in heart function long before the pumping fraction decreases. The novelty is not just relying on a change in pumping fraction, but more subtle changes in heart tissue motion.”

In addition to catching more heart disease early, this innovation could help refer patients to specialists for more expensive imaging tests – and could prevent needless medical tests, too.

But the clinical applications extend beyond screening. The patent-pending technology could improve the monitoring of cancer patients receiving cardiotoxic therapies or patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy taking new medications that alter muscle function.

To learn more about this research, read the full story here: go.rutgers.edu/m45es51q

10/16/2025

10/15/2025

The Rutgers Brain Health Institute has awarded 2025–2026 Trainee Travel Grants to 12 outstanding students and postdoctoral fellows, empowering them to present their cutting-edge neuroscience and mental health research at national and international conferences.

These $500 awards give early-career researchers the opportunity to connect with peers and leading scientists, strengthen their professional development, contribute to advancing impactful neuroscience research, and raise the visibility of Rutgers neuroscience and mental health research on a global stage.

The Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) recently announced the recipients of the 2025-2026 Trainee Travel Awards, which recognize outstanding Rutgers neuroscience Ph.D. students, M.D./Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows. Each awardee receives $500 to help offset the cost of attending a nationa...

10/14/2025

Baseemah J. Marshall discovered the power of a smile after getting braces as a child. But it was a conversation she had in college with her dentist that led her to Rutgers’ Gateway to Dentistry program and ultimately revealed her true calling.

After earning her degree from the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in 2010 and completing a general practice residency, Marshall shifted into public health to work at federally qualified health centers across New Jersey. Today, she’s back in her hometown of Newark as the dental director at the Mary Eliza Mahoney Health Center.

“I returned to Newark because I felt called to give back to the community that raised me. These neighborhoods made me who I am,” she says.

Her guiding mantra: “We are changing lives one smile at a time.”

“We influence our patients' mental health when we fix their teeth. We influence their overall health because, without teeth, you can't chew or digest properly; we restore patients’ confidence. And I feel proud that my team and I can offer that to our community.

Beyond dentistry, Marshall also serves as a role model for local youth, engaging in community events, speaking at schools, and participating in career days.

“Many of our young patients are seeing a provider who looks like them, comes from where they come from, and truly understands their experiences,” she says. “I believe representation and early exposure can plant powerful seeds of confidence and possibility.”