Scientific Director (Research Assistant Professor)

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities. Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic programs, Carolina is an ideal place to teach, work and learn.

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Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others whom we serve. We accomplish this by providing leadership and excellence in the interrelated areas of patient care, education and research.

Patient care: We promote health and provide superb clinical care while maintaining our strong tradition of reaching underserved populations and reducing health disparities across North Carolina and beyond.

Education: We prepare tomorrow`s healthcare professionals and biomedical researchers from all backgrounds by facilitating learning within innovative and integrated curricula and team-oriented interprofessional education to ensure a highly skilled workforce.

Research: We develop and support a rich array of outstanding health sciences research programs, centers and resources. We provide infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration among disciplines throughout and beyond our university to support outstanding research. We foster programs in the areas of basic, translational, mechanistic and population research.

The Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases is seeking an Assistant Professor. The successful applicant will serve as Scientific Director of the Juliano Research Group and will lead a multidisciplinary team focused on molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and translational research related to malaria and other infectious diseases of global health importance. The position includes full support to direct and expand an established, internationally recognized research enterprise, with the expectation that the successful candidate will progressively develop an independent research program and establish a trajectory toward research independence.

This position requires expertise in original scholarship, research design, implementation of research procedures, project leadership, data analysis, and interpretation of results. A substantial component of the role involves the analysis and integration of high-dimensional genomic and transcriptomic datasets, including DNA and RNA sequencing data, from primary data processing through biological interpretation. Additional expertise in metabolomics, lipidomics, or other systems biology approaches is highly desirable.

The successful applicant will oversee laboratory and analytical personnel, coordinate multidisciplinary research activities, contribute to grant development and scientific publications, and foster innovation across a diverse portfolio of projects. Research activities will primarily focus on malaria pathogenesis, immunity, genomics, molecular epidemiology, and surveillance, while also contributing to studies of other pathogens and diseases of global health significance.

The position is embedded within the collaborative environment of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Laboratory (IDEEL), providing opportunities to engage with investigators across clinical, epidemiologic, laboratory, computational, and implementation science disciplines. Strong interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills are essential, as the successful applicant will work closely with trainees, staff, faculty collaborators, and international research partners. Collaboration with international partners may require travel to sites.

* Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Genomics, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, or a closely related field.
* Postdoctoral or equivalent research experience in genomics, molecular epidemiology, infectious diseases, or a related discipline.
* Demonstrated expertise in the analysis and interpretation of DNA and RNA sequencing data, including development and implementation of bioinformatic workflows and pipelines.
* Experience leading and coordinating multidisciplinary research teams, including supervision of research staff, trainees, and/or technical personnel.
* Experience in research design, project management, data analysis, and interpretation of complex biological datasets.

* Expertise in malaria biology, molecular epidemiology, genomics, immunology, or global infectious diseases.
* Experience integrating multi-omic datasets, including transcriptomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, proteomics, or related systems biology approaches.
* Experience contributing to grant writing, scientific reporting, and development of externally funded research programs.
* Experience mentoring trainees, junior scientists, and research staff.
* Experience working with international research partners and multidisciplinary collaborative networks.
* Demonstrated potential to establish and sustain an independent research program.
* Experience utilizing high-performance computing or cloud-based environments for large-scale biological data analysis.
* Demonstrated record of original scholarship, including peer-reviewed publications and scientific dissemination.
* Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
* Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative, team-science environment and to foster productive scientific collaborations.
* Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Please upload a separate document addressing each of the following questions:

Please ensure your document is uploaded as an Other Document at the time of application.

If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the University's Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost office at (919)-962-1091 or send an email to facultyrecruitment@unc.edu.

Please note: The Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost office will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

If you have any questions about the job requirements or the hiring department notify the Department Contact.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.