Rutgers University Names Hila Berger as Assistant Vice President of Research Regulatory Affairs

Rutgers Office for Research welcomes Hila Feldman Berger as assistant vice president of research regulatory affairs, starting March 22, 2022. Berger joins Rutgers from Montclair State University where she served as director of research compliance and regulatory programs.

“Hila Berger has an established record of organizing federal requests, developing new universitywide units, and instituting system integration for electronic review and submission of human subjects protocols,” said Michael E. Zwick, PhD, senior vice president for research. “She has a deep understanding of the many facets of the research enterprise and the critical need for relationship-building with faculty and stakeholders, while deepening a culture of research integrity.”

Berger joins Rutgers with 17 years of experience in institutional research compliance and universitywide program and policy development, and will report directly to José Miguel Román, JD, DMin, vice president for research administration.

She began her career as a public health policy researcher, focusing on the statewide policy of tobacco use. Later at Rutgers University’s New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, she managed compliance for clinical trials and regenerative medicine research programs, funded by the Department of Defense.

Berger worked at Montclair State University over the last 11 years, leading a compliance team to implement and develop all the necessary compliance programs to match the institution’s growth from a master’s degree level to R2 Carnegie designation. Among these accomplishments include negotiation of the university’s Animal Welfare Assurance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, establishing the institution’s initial USDA registration, and developing a brand-new Occupational Health unit supporting the regulatory needs of the research enterprise.

Hila Berger is also a noted speaker and leader in equity and justice for human subject protections. She is active on the National Conference Planning Committee for the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), focusing on professional development in justice and equity.

Recently, Berger co-presented at the 2021 Advancing Ethical Research Conference in a session entitled, “Embedding a Racial Justice Lens into Research and IRB Review with Human Subjects – How to Be an Anti-Racist at Work Every Day.” In May 2022, she will be speaking at the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP) national conference.

Berger received her master’s degree in public health from Rutgers University School of Public Health (formerly University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) and is certified as an IRB professional (CIP®) and healthcare compliance professional (CHC®).