Rutgers School of Public Health Assistant Dean for Research Receives Rutgers Gateway Award
Katie Zapert, assistant dean for research at the Rutgers School of Public Health, has received the 2025 Rutgers Gateway Award (Service to Employees).
The accolade recognizes Rutgers employees whose contributions enhance workplace culture, remove barriers, and strengthen collaboration across the university.
At the School of Public Health, Zapert has played a central role in coordinating research activity and improving the systems that support it.
“Katie has built the school’s Office of Research from the ground up and has become an indispensable leader for our faculty and for research deans across Rutgers,” said Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health.
“She oversees every grant application, secures critical external funding, and, most recently, has worked tirelessly with university leadership and state officials to protect more than $11 million in threatened research support,” Halkitis added. “Her expertise, commitment, and integrity make her profoundly deserving of this award.”
Zapert’s leadership became especially vital earlier this year, when several ongoing research projects were terminated by the National Institutes of Health following a shift in federal priorities. She brought together the researchers affected by these decisions and worked with colleagues across the university to organize a response.
This coordinated effort led to Rutgers being represented in a multistate legal action, which resulted in the reinstatement of nearly all previously affected research projects.
“I’m incredibly honored and humbled to receive the Rutgers Gateway Award (Service to Employees),” Zapert said. “While there’s always more work ahead, none of what I do would be possible without the remarkable research our faculty, staff, and students generate and share each day. I dedicate this award to them, and I promise to keep fighting for you and the future of public health.”
The Gateway Award is part of the Presidential Employee Excellence Recognition Program, established in 2022 to recognize employees’ contributions and foster a supportive and engaged workplace.
Zapert was formally presented with the award at the Rutgers Club on November 14.
