Executive Vice Dean of Research

Executive Vice Dean of Research

Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dell Medical School Dean, this role offers a rare opportunity to architect and scale a next‑generation research enterprise within one of the nation’s most powerful public research universities.

The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) ranks No. 1 among U.S. universities for NSF supported research and is also in the top ten for DOD and DOE-funded projects, according to the 2024 HERD Survey. Dell Medical School advanced 53 spots to No. 54 among 148 U.S. medical schools in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings for 2024 and maintained No. 56 in 2025. UT Austin is home to globally recognized centers and institutes including the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, the Texas Robotics Center, the Center for Generative AI, and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), one of the most powerful academic supercomputing environments in the world. These assets, combined with leading programs across the Cockrell School of Engineering, McCombs School of Business, College of Natural Sciences, School of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and Steve Hicks School of Social Work, create an unparalleled platform for advancing interdisciplinary biomedical discovery, digital health, AI-enabled medicine, population health, and health system innovation.

As UT Austin develops an integrated medical center without legacy constraints, this role enables you to design, build, and oversee a research program focused on innovation, interdisciplinary teamwork, and real world impact. The Executive Vice Dean will play a critical role in building cross-campus research institutes, catalyzing large-scale federal and industry partnerships, and translating breakthroughs in data science, engineering, and computational biology into transformative advances in patient care, prevention, and health system performance across UT Medicine.

We seek candidates who are motivated by building a world-class research enterprise, blending UT Austin’s academic excellence with an agile, innovative academic health system. Join us in our mission to transform care and change the world.

The Position

The Executive Vice Dean for Research serves as the senior academic and administrative leader for the research mission of Dell Medical School and the developing UT Medicine academic health system. This role carries institution wide responsibility for setting research strategy, strengthening operations and governance, and advancing a cohesive, high impact research enterprise that is fully integrated with clinical care, education, and community engagement.

As the principal architect of the research agenda, the Executive Vice Dean for Research will collaborate closely with department chairs, center and institute directors, clinical leaders, and campus partners. The Executive Vice Dean for Research will serve as a primary liaison to UT Austin’s central research leadership, including the University’s Vice President for Research, and to strategic partners across the UT System.

The position will play a central leadership role in advancing UT Medicine’s transformational vision to build a world-class tertiary and quaternary academic health system in Austin. As part of UT Austin’s greenfield, multi-billion-dollar investment in clinical, research, and translational infrastructure, the Vice Dean will help shape a next-generation model that tightly integrates discovery science, advanced clinical care, and innovation. This includes aligning research strategy with the rapid expansion of UT Medicine’s specialty and subspecialty service lines, strengthening the strategic collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop a premier cancer service line in Central Texas, supporting the development of leading-edge institutes, and fostering partnerships that accelerate translation from bench to bedside.

Key Responsibilities

As Executive Vice Dean for Research, you become the architect of a next‑generation research enterprise. One built deliberately, at scale, and with national ambition. You will define the scientific direction of Dell Medical School and UT Medicine, setting a clear, forward‑looking research agenda that aligns discovery, translation, and impact across a rapidly evolving academic health system and one of the nation’s leading public research universities.

This role empowers you to shape how research is conceived, supported, and advanced by building the structures, governance, and culture that allow bold ideas and interdisciplinary teams to thrive. You will unite investigators across medicine, engineering, data science, public health, and the broader UT Austin ecosystem, creating an environment where collaboration is not incidental, but foundational.

You will be positioned to elevate the institution’s national standing by attracting transformative funding, cultivating high‑impact partnerships, and championing large‑scale, multi‑investigator initiatives that define fields rather than follow them. Through strategic investment in infrastructure, talent, and shared resources, you will enable faculty at all career stages to succeed and grow; strengthening both today’s research enterprise and the pipeline of future scientific leaders.

At the intersection of research and clinical care, you will accelerate the translation of discovery into practice, expanding clinical trials, advancing implementation science, and helping build a learning health system that continuously improves outcomes. As a visible ambassador for Dell Medical School and UT Medicine, you will represent the institution on the national and global stage, shaping conversations with federal agencies, peer institutions, industry partners, and philanthropic leaders.

Candidate profile & qualifications

The Executive Vice Dean for Research will be an accomplished scholar–leader with the vision, credibility, and executive experience to guide a complex and rapidly growing research enterprise at a top‑tier university.

Academic Credentials and Scholarly Standing

The successful candidate will hold a MD, MD/PhD, or PhD, with a distinguished record of scholarly achievement meriting appointment as a tenured full Professor. This individual will bring a sustained history of extramural funding as a principal investigator.

Leadership and Organizational Experience

Candidates will have significant senior leadership experience within an academic medical center, medical school, or research‑intensive university, with demonstrated responsibility for advancing research strategy, growing funding portfolios, and building high‑performing teams. Experience leading large, complex research organizations (i.e., centers, institutes, or multi‑investigator initiatives) and scaling research infrastructure and interdisciplinary programs. A deep understanding of federal funding agencies, regulatory and compliance environments, and research administration is essential.

Strategic and Collaborative Leadership Attributes

The ideal candidate is a strategic, systems‑oriented thinker who appreciates both the mission and the transformative potential of academic medicine at an R1 university. This leader will be highly collaborative and politically astute, comfortable navigating a matrixed environment and forging productive partnerships across disciplines, institutions, and sectors. Exceptional communication skills are critical, including the ability to articulate a compelling vision for UT Austin, Dell Medical School, and UT Medicine to diverse internal and external audiences.

Above all, the Executive Vice Dean for Research will be mission‑driven, forward‑looking, and deeply committed to advancing research that improves health, accelerates discovery, and shapes the future of academic medicine.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• Cover letter explaining their interest and experience that make them a good fit for this position
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.