Dr. Jim Brown
College Dean,
Public Health Educator

I always loved science and dreamed of one day tracking down a disease at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. I received my Ph.D. from the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers University and began working as an AIDS researcher/virologist at the NJ State Department of Health. I found AIDS to be a horrible disease and wanted to reach beyond the microscope and test-tubes to help the people who were living with HIV/AIDS. I was pursuing as second master degree in Health Sciences at Jersey City State College and was encouraged to get involved in public health by three of my professors, Dr. Gail Gordon, Marcia Pinkett-Heller and Dr. Joseph Pikus. Dr. Pikus became a mentor for me and encouraged me to join the New Jersey Public Health Association (NJPHA). I became involved in many different projects and eventually became president in 1994. I had opportunities to visit China and India to help set up AIDS testing in remote areas. I also saw starvation, disease, hunger and poverty unlike anything that I have experienced in the US. I saw first hand how basic public health could dramatically improve lives.

I worked as a Director of Microbiology for a division of Hoffmann-La Roche and they were extremely supportive of my volunteer work in public health. I returned to the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services as an assistant commissioner overseeing the Public Health and Environmental Laboratories. I truly loved combining my training in microbiology and public health to help run down outbreaks and track epidemics. I found that I really enjoyed sharing my experiences and teaching others and eventually switched to full time teaching and became an assistant professor and assistant dean at New Jersey City University. I taught courses such as Introduction to Public Health and Advanced Epidemiology and became to first professor to develop an online course. Teaching is no longer just face-to-face but may involve students who you actually never see but get to know really well. I have had students from Alabama, Mississippi, and Rhode Island. I really enjoy seeing students get excited about learning public health. I am currently the Dean of Health Sciences, Human Performance, Science and Engineering at Ocean County College and I still continue to teach public health courses and I absolutely love what I do.

The New Jersey Public Health Association helps me keep in contact with other public health professionals and it gives me a chance to help out in other areas of public health. I encourage everyone in public health to join and stay connected.

Dr. Jim Brown
Dean, Health Sciences, Human Performance, Science and Engineering
Ocean County College

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Health Science
New Jersey City University

Past President, New Jersey Public Health Association (1994 - 1995)