Denise Rodgers, MD, FAAFP
Director- Rutgers Urban Health and Wellness Institute
Dr. Denise Rodgers is the principal investigator for REACH. She is also the Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Programs at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Prior to her appointment as vice chancellor, Dr. Rodgers was the Executive Vice President for Academic and Clinical Affairs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey from 2006 to 2013. She also served as the fifth and final president of UMDNJ from January 2012 to July 2013.
Dr. Rodgers has devoted much of her career as a family physician to caring for underserved patients and communities. Through this work she has become committed to more effectively addressing social determinants of health in order to improve outcomes and eliminate disparities. In addition to her work with REACH, she is currently chair of the Greater Newark Health Care Coalition and the steering committee for the Believe in a Healthy Newark Initiative.