Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology (F77600, F77610)

Mission or Goal of Unit: The Department of Pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is passionately committed to advancing the frontiers of medicine through excellence in education, innovative research, and exceptional clinical care. Our department plays a vital role in understanding and diagnosing disease through cutting-edge technologies and interdisciplinary expertise, we aim to uncover the mechanisms of disease, contribute to groundbreaking discoveries, and translate scientific insights into tangible clinical applications. The Department of Pathology also thrives on collaboration through our strong partnerships with the Massey Cancer Center, VCU Health System, and other research and clinical institutes across the university, we are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world impact.

Chief Purpose of this position: The Department invites applicants with a PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent degree who will be expected to develop and maintain a rigorous, extramurally-funded research program in the Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathobiology with relevance to human disease. Candidates will join a thriving division of six faculty members with active research programs and substantial external funding. Opportunities for collaboration with faculty from other clinical divisions within the Department of Pathology are available. While research is the primary focus, the candidate will also contribute to the academic mission by participating in classroom teaching at an appropriate level.

Position Responsibilities:

Teaching: Develop and improve educational programs which support learning and enhanced practice. Provides teaching of residents, medical students, and others. Participates in the didactic teaching programs of the department at this institution and attends conferences, rounds, and staff meetings as required by Chair.

Research: Areas of interest include, but are not limited to Cancer Biology & Therapeutics, Immunology, Inflammation, Metabolism, Proteostasis, Genomics, Proteomics, and Bioinformatics/Computational Biology. Candidates focusing on cancer research will find ample opportunities for collaboration with over 1,000 researchers engaged in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research at the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Those pursuing other research areas will benefit from collaborations across multiple basic health sciences departments within the VCU School of Medicine.

All candidates will have access to VCU's robust research core facilities, including the Tissue Data Acquisition & Analytics Core (TDAAC), which currently collects biospecimens from cancer patients, supports a patient-derived xenograft program, and is expanding its biospecimen collection to other diseases. Additional core resources include, but are not limited to, the Genomics/Next-Generation Sequencing Core, Proteomics Core, Microscopy Core, Flow Cytometry Core, Transgenic Mouse Core, Cancer Mouse Models Core, High-Performance Research Computing Core, and the Lipidomics & Metabolomics Core.

Service: May serve on various departmental, School of Medicine, University or VCU Health System committees as requested by Chair or determined via individual interest. The Department stresses the importance of being a good citizen of the institution and fosters community service at all levels.

Required Qualifications:

• PhD, MD/PhD or equivalent degree
• Peer-reviewed publications demonstrating research productivity
• Proven ability to secure extramural funding
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications:

• Integration of state-of-the-art technologies (e.g., spatial/single-cell omics, organoid models) into the research program

ORP Eligible: Yes