Joslin Diabetes Center Taps Amenta as New President & CEO

Peter S. Amenta, MD, PhD, who has been a healthcare leader at New Jersey’s largest medical school for more than 25 years, has been appointed the new president and CEO of Joslin Diabetes Center. His appointment becomes effective October 5, 2015.

Amenta, who had served on the Joslin board for 5 years, had recently stepped down from the board to work directly with the diabetes center in a consulting role. He was selected by the board to fill the top position after John L. Brooks III resigned as president and CEO of Joslin earlier this month.

Since 1989, Amenta has been on the faculty of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where he served as the dean for 8 years, from 2006 through 2013. The medical school in New Jersey grew dramatically during that period, and now has 2800 faculty and 1500 students, with 34 hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites with 22 basic science and clinical departments as well as a stem cell research institute.

This was a period of extraordinary change in the governance of Rutgers generally and the medical school in particular, which played out at the highest levels of state government; the changes included the creation of a second medical school in southern New Jersey.

Amenta’s accomplishments at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson included restructuring the clinical practice and basic science departmental organization while also establishing a state-of-the-art electronic health record, recruiting key faculty and negotiating agreements with partner hospitals. Despite resistance to the restructuring in many quarters, many reviews have found the delivery of medical services by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson stronger than ever, including the fact that New Jersey residents who once had to travel out-of-state for some services no longer see the need.

In his own research, Amenta is an “expert anatomic pathologist, electron microscopist and immunohistochemist,” according to a statement from Joslin. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, chapters and abstracts; he serves on the editorial board of Human Pathology and is a reviewer for other journals.

“I am fabulously excited; this is a unique opportunity in someone’s career to lead a place of Joslin’s caliber,” Amenta said in a statement released by Joslin. “Our vision for Joslin’s future is strong; we all want to cure diabetes, and as Joslin’s leadership we need to make sure we have the financial capability and systems in place to go forward to accomplish this. We will be a highly effective and efficient organization, well-positioned to continue making advancements in research and clinical care.”

Amenta graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut; received his medical degree from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he also received a doctorate in anatomy.