Over the course of just five years, the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) has ascended to become a premier regional hub for translational research. With a robust infrastructure boasting 32 laboratories and nearly 200 dedicated scientists and support personnel, backed by an impressive tally of 60 NIH grant awards, including two national centers of excellence, CDI stands at the forefront of scientific advancement.
While CDI’s rapid success reflects its outstanding scientists, every member of CDI will tell you that it is the research operation that is the true star that fosters and nurtures great science. Constructing a sophisticated research enterprise to support CDI’s mission during a rapid growth phase with adversity posed by a pandemic was a major challenge and required a master architect and implementor. Enter Alla Rabinovich, MBA, vice president and chief operating officer for CDI, who with vision, leadership, and unwavering determination built a world class organization within HMH to meet the high demand of modern science, while infusing operational and organizational innovations that rival the science emanating from the CDI.
Alla is no stranger to building and operating efficient research organizations within complex environments. Prior to joining CDI, she held a similar position at the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI), which is part of New Jersey Medical School - Rutgers University. Working in concert with Dr. David Perlin at PHRI for more than 16 years, they built an entrepreneurial model for innovative and nimble biomedical research that was grounded in sound business principles and operational practices, which ultimately provided the foundation for the creation of the CDI.
Perlin commented: “it was apparent that to realize the vision for CDI, we needed a business savvy professional with a strong background in finance and operational management who could build a robust organization that addressed the real-time demands of academic researchers, while effectively navigating the complexities of the HMH landscape. Recruiting Alla Rabinovich to lead this effort was critical to our success.”
Alla accepted the challenge. With a strong vision and sense of purpose, she set to work more than one year prior to CDI opening its doors to build organizational capacity within HMH by establishing the core business elements required to support CDI science through partnership and strategic recruitment of an experienced management team.
Building a cohesive organization is about creating a business community with shared goals, values, and purpose. As a firm believer that culture matters, Alla embraces an organizational environment based on transparency, honesty, hard work, accountability, respect, empowerment of colleagues, and communal spirit.
These core values very much reflect her family upbringing and immigrant background. She spent her early childhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, and then emigrat to the US with her family at the age of 9. Like many refugees from the former Soviet Union, immigration and assimilation in a new country was not easy. Growing up in Chicago, she learned the virtues of self-reliance and motivation. She also benefited from the love and support of family, as her parents worked hard to build a life for their family. While we are all shaped by our past, Alla embraces her roots, which established core values for success in life. However, she does not overly dwell on the past; she is very much about the present and the future.
Alla is inspired by creativity and energy, which likely accounts for her work with innovative scientists over the past several decades, as well as her embracing New York City as home since the 1990s. She is a tenacious problem solver and thrives on quickly creating logical and innovative solutions to difficult challenges. After rapidly working through a solution that impresses her experienced staff, she will say “It’s just logical and makes sense.” Perlin says: “her thought process and execution is pure artistry.”
Alla comprehends deeply that "change is inevitable" in life, whether it involves relocating from one's homeland, maneuvering through a pandemic, societal disruptions, or adjusting to new leadership. However, what truly counts is not the change itself, but rather our ability to adapt and transform it into a positive force that benefits everyone.
As Alla continues to create enterprise-wide innovations on behalf of CDI, HMHRI and HMH, she leads by example. But her true goal is to inspire and empower those around her to keep building a better academic research setting for all.