Clifton R. Lacy, M.D. is Director of the Center for Emergency Preparedness, Infrastructure and Communication (EPIC) at Rutgers University. EPIC’s academic home is located in the University’s Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation.

EPIC is a multidisciplinary center of excellence that combines the expertise and experience in research, education, community outreach, and clinical practice of the faculty and staff of Rutgers University to address public safety, homeland security, emergency preparedness, and disaster response.

Dr. Lacy is a member of the Rutgers full-time faculty, with positions that include:
• Distinguished Professor of Professional Practice at the School of Communication and Information
• Clinical Professor of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Visiting Professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, and
• Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Advance Infrastructure and Transportation in the School of Engineering

Previously, Dr. Lacy served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Robert Wood Johnson Health System. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is a 965-bed tertiary and quaternary health care institution located in central New Jersey. It is the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and is now in the RWJ-Barnabas Health System.

Prior to that, Dr. Lacy served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJ-DHSS), leading a department with a $3 billion budget responsible for public health protection and services, health planning and regulation, hospital financing, public health and environmental laboratory services, senior services, health care policy and research, minority and multicultural health, and health emergency and terrorism preparedness and response. In this role, he directed modernization of the department’s emergency preparedness capabilities and the development and implementation of the health emergency and terrorism preparedness and response plan for the State of New Jersey (referenced in the 9-11 Commission Hearings).

Active at state and national levels in health emergency and disaster preparedness and response, Dr. Lacy serves as a member of the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force and its Healthcare and Public Health Subcommittee.

Dr. Lacy served as Health Scientist on the federal Department of Homeland Security- FEMA National Advisory Council and a member of its Preparedness and Protection Subcommittee and Interdisciplinary Collaboration Working Group.

He was also the founding Director of the Rutgers Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security (IEPHS) and the University Center for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response (UCDPER), and chaired the Advisory Board of the New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). He has provided testimony for the United States Congress on the state of national preparedness.

Dr. Lacy also served as Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief of Staff at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; and was Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hypertension and Director of the Center for Disease Management and Clinical Outcomes at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Dr. Lacy earned his medical degree from UMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School (later named UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and now named Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), where he also completed a residency in internal medicine, served as chief resident in internal medicine, and completed a fellowship in cardiovascular diseases. HeScientS is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases. He has practiced the subspecialty of cardiovascular medicine for over three decades.

He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and an inductee into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He has been listed as one of the Best Doctors in America, named to Modern Physician magazine’s list of the nation’s 50 most powerful physician- executives, and selected by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in healthcare.

Dr. Lacy is a highly-regarded educator and researcher, who has received numerous awards for teaching and has published extensively in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. He has served on national, regional, and local clinical and scientific committees and advisory boards including those of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, National Institutes of Health, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers.