The Institute is composed of three major divisions, six centers, a research group, two postdoctoral and undergraduate training programs, graduate fellowships, and two national program offices of programs funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Division on Health is chaired by Howard Leventhal, Ph.D., a social psychologist, who has developed a comprehensive program for studying health and behavior throughout the life span from a social, psychological and biological perspective.

The Division on Aging is directed by Stephen Crystal, Ph.D., a sociologist, whose research aims to improve the knowledge of economic, health status and other outcomes in later life and for those with chronic illnesses by examining their interactions with services and treatment and the impact of policies.

The Division on Health Policy is directed by Louise B. Russell, Ph.D., an economist, whose research on cost-effectiveness of prevention and other interventions and risk and risk factor modeling informs decision making on the appropriate allocation of resources in the health care sector.

The AIDS Policy Research Group, begun by Stephen Crystal, Ph.D., is led by Dr. Crystal and his colleagues, James Walkup, Ph.D. whose research places HIV health services use and outcomes at the intersection of individual behaviors of the target population and the functioning of health care delivery programs.

The Center for the Study of Health Beliefs and Behavior Directed by Professor Howard Leventhal the Center for the Study of Health Beliefs and Behavior (the "Mind/Body Center") is an interdisciplinary initiative integrating health, cognitive, and social psychology with clinical medicine, medical sociology and health policy to support studies advancing a biopsychosocial approach to mind-body relations in health behavior. The Center was begun in mid-2004 and is funded by a five year award from the National Institute of Aging and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.

The Center for Mental Health Services & Criminal Justice Research Established in September 2002 and directed by Professor Nancy Wolff, this Center’s research focuses on mental health services issues that arise when persons with a mental illness have encounters with the criminal justice system. Research addresses care and treatment, processing through the criminal justice system and informs policymaking. The Center is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

The Center for Obesity Research and Intervention With an award from the Academic Excellence Fund at Rutgers University, this Center was established at the Institute in 2004. Directed by Dr. Michael Friedman, this new, developing Center addresses one of the most important public health challenges currently facing the nation. With an interdisciplinary focus the Center’s research examines obesity from the cellular level to social influences, includes the design and testing of interventions, and examines policies and their implementation.

The Center for Health Services Research on Pharmacotherapy, Chronic Disease Management, and Outcomes Recently funded through a Rutgers University Academic Excellence Fund, this Center is directed by Professor Stephen Crystal. The Center’s research focuses on understanding the complex factors and processes that shape utilization of pharmacotherapy and provides a stronger knowledge base for quality improvement and more-effective use of medications especially in managing individuals with chronic health conditions.

The Center for Health Services Research Development This Center led by Professors Stephen Crystal and Joel Cantor brings together experts from multidisciplinary fields to identify the most effective ways to organize, manage, finance, and deliver high quality care and improve health outcomes. Special emphasis is placed on utilizing and linking state health data to examine access to health care, utilization, and outcomes and inform policymaking.

The Center for State Health Policy was established in the fall of 1998 with a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a resource for research, teaching and consultation on state health policy for New Jersey and other states. Directed by Joel C. Cantor, Sc.D. and co-directed by Susan Reinhard, Ph.D., the Center comprises Rutgers’ faculty from all three university campuses, relevant academic disciplines and professional schools in health and related areas and various centers that have the expertise to address state health policy issues. As the initiative for health policy shifts significantly to state governments, legislators and administrators and policymakers play an increasingly important role in the organization and financing of health care, the structures of managed care and long-term care, prevention and public health efforts, pharmaceutical insurance coverage , substance abuse policies and a wide range of regulatory activities that shape the health of the population and health care services. The Center engages in important dissemination activities and sponsors forums and other programs to inform policymakers and the public about health research and policy issues.

The national program office of the New Jersey Health Initiatives Program that is also funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is housed within the Institute and located on the Camden Campus. Directed by Calvin Bland and co-directed by Gretchen Hartling the program makes health development grants to programs in New Jersey and e+ngages in health leadership and management development within state agencies.

The Postdoctoral Training Program in Mental Health Services and Systems Research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health is one of the Institute’s educational programs. Directed by David Mechanic, Ph.D. and co-directed by Allan Horwitz, Ph.D., this interdisciplinary program attracts trainees from a variety of disciplines in the social sciences, medicine, and law. The program focuses on mental health and mental health policy and research and provides trainees with an understanding of the dynamics of mental health problems and their treatment and the social, political, and economic constraints in developing policy options. Six trainees are funded each year.

Graduate Research and Excellence Fellowships. Faculty at the Institute provide a broad range of education, training and research opportunities for graduate students enrolled in sociology, psychology, history, social work, human ecology, political science, economics, anthropology, philosophy, public health, public policy, and the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. Several faculty are involved especially in three specific formal programs that prepare predoctoral students for active research careers: Medical Sociology, Health Psychology and History of Health Care Policy, Medicine and Disease. Graduate Research and Excellence Fellowships that provide tuition remission and stipend are available for graduate students interested in health and health policy research.