Welcome to IFNH
The New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH) underscores the commitment of Rutgers University to new transformational initiatives across the many disciplines impacting food, nutrition, and health. Its purpose is to unite faculty, staff, and students to work on serious but preventable health problems and to support the aspiration of New Jersey as the “Healthy State” and a model for the nation. Faculty in the IFNH continue its mission to support interdisciplinary and innovative research exploring new dimensions of health and wellness. The IFNH building itself serves as a physical space that embodies the goals of health and wellness.
Since its founding in 2010, the Institute has successfully supported and/or launched several centers and research initiatives, provided seed funding and support for research, and shared knowledge through symposia, conferences, and other public events. Following fifteen successful years supporting a range of research areas, the Institute is undertaking a visioning exercise to identify future directions and strategic areas of research focus that align with the Rutgers–New Brunswick Academic Master Plan and the SEBS/NJAES mission to address grand challenges and the needs of New Jersey. The visioning process is framed around four strategic working groups centered on four broad themes: (1) Digestive Health; (2) Environmental Influences on Food, Nutrition and Health; (3) Food as Medicine/Precision Nutrition; and (4) Health across the Lifespan. This process will be completed in 2025.
When the INFH building opened its doors in 2015, it instantly became the meeting place for faculty, staff, and students on Cook Campus. The 80,000 square-foot interdisciplinary facility features classrooms, meeting rooms, and research spaces that are connected by a series of light-filled, open spaces. The intention of being a space for health and wellness finds expression in a 3-story interior living wall with 46 species and more than 5,200 plants. Harvest Café, on the first floor, provides healthy meals and a place to sit and relax. Passersby can’t help but smile as they watch children in the Rutgers Psychology Child Development Center eating lunch or playing on the playground. Leaning into its popularity, IFNH is expanding health and wellness programming as a pilot for a student wellness center at Rutgers–New Brunswick. More information will be provided and this website updated as plans progress.
News and Events
- The 18th Annual Pioneers in Endocrinology Workshop will be held on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at the Rutgers Douglass Student Center, 100 George Street, New Brunswick.
This year's theme is GLP-1 beyond Weight Loss and will feature two lectures: "Changing the Set Point: Mechanisms of Surgical Versus Pharmacological Weight Loss" given by Randy J. Seeley, PhD, Henry King Ransom Endowed Professor of Surgery and Professor of Internal Medicine at University of Michigan Medical School; and "Gut-Brain GLP1 Signaling in Motivated Behavior" given by Linda Rinaman, PhD, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology and R. Bruce Masterton Professor of Neuroscience at Florida State University. - You are invited to an evening of Stories of Rutgers Research. November 12, 2026 from 7–9 p.m.
Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, 61 Dudley Road, New Brunswick.
Reception and refreshments following the screening.
Registration link