Chief Operating Officer, Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine & Science (RITMS)
Director of Administration,
New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS)

(732) 235-7606

wfj6@rbhs.rutgers.edu

http://ritms.rutgers.edu/

Mr. Jester received his Bachelor of Science degree from Lebanon Valley College. He started his career working at the Temple University Medical School managing his principal investigator’s laboratory. Before transitioning to Rutgers University in 2016, Mr. Jester served for fifteen years as the Chief Operating Officer for the Airway Biology Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. Where he managed an extramural research portfolio of $10 million/year and supervised 22 faculty, trainees and staff dedicated to translational research and clinical trials. Mr. Jester currently serves as Director of Administration for the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS). NJ ACTS provides an infrastructure that supports and enhances clinical and translational research and training in New Jersey. Mr. Jester also serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Rutgers Institute Translational Medicine and Science (RITMS). This Institute fosters translational studies in health and disease, and integrates the expertise of the disciplines of epidemiology, pharmacology, cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, and health economics and informatics across the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) network. By supporting investigation that interface both basic and clinical research, the RITMS is able to focus on developing biomarkers and new and safer therapeutics to address the heterogeneity of disease pathogenesis and predict therapeutic responses.