Steven Brant Named Bishr and Souha Omary Family Endowed Legacy Professorship
Rutgers professor Steven Brant, a recognized world leader in the field of gastroenterology and internal medicine who was a key participant in identifying the first gene for Crohn’s disease, has been selected as the inaugural holder of the Bishr and Souha Omary Family Endowed Legacy Professorship.
The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved the professorship at its meeting Thursday. An endowed professorship is one of the highest honors a university can bestow and is reserved for an eminent scholar whose work and research significantly advances the discipline.
Brant, a professor at the Department of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS), received the professorship in recognition of his contribution in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and understanding the disease’s genetic basis.
Over the course of his research, which spans nearly 30 years, Brant discovered a major gene, NHE3, for intestinal sodium absorption and involved in hypertension and diarrheal diseases. He was the first to show that IBD in African Americans has a genetic basis and he was the first to identify and characterize those genes that increase the risk of IBD in African Americans. Brant, who serves as the chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at RWJMS, has contributed to more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and has an extensive funding record from the National Institutes of Health.
The Omary legacy professorship is a first for Rutgers. Endowed by Bishr Omary, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and research at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and his wife, Souha, it’s the university’s first inaugural legacy professorship created to support biomedical research.
Brant, whose professorship began July 1, 2024 was also recognized for his strong commitment to training and mentoring faculty.