Description

UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI) is accepting applications for the position of Chair of a new Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine.

The Chair of the Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine at UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI) will lead approximately 20 departmental faculty and is expected to bring effective leadership, fiscal, and management skills to cultivate existing strengths of the School. The Chair will lead the rapidly expanding research enterprise and foster research collaborations within the Department, across SBMI, and with other UTHealth Houston departments and schools, as well as specialty institutes and centers of UTHealth Houston, as appropriate. External to the School and University, this position will promote and facilitate training and research activities at the local, national, and global levels.

This position will also reinforce the Department’s commitment to education by helping to strengthen and/or expand graduate curricula and programs in Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine. This position is also expected to work closely with the Dean in devising and executing strategies that advance the School’s mission and strategic vision that supports the goals of the faculty within the Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, the Dean of UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI), and UTHealth Houston.

Qualifications of the Ideal Candidate:

• Expertise in any area of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine, broadly defined, including but not limited to: Precision Health, Genomic Medicine, Cancer Genomics, Omics, Pharmacogenomics, Single Cell Sequencing, Computational Drug Discovery, Imaging Informatics, Imaging Genomics, Systems Biology, Metagenomics for Microbiomes, Biological Pathways, Network Analysis, and Multimodality Modeling;
• An outstanding track record of research productivity in one or more of the aforementioned areas, as demonstrated by extramural funding, publications, mentoring, and engagement;
• A consistent record of successful leadership and fiscal and program management;
• A demonstrated track record in, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion activities in research, teaching, and service;
• A demonstrated success in mentoring and training junior faculty members to help them obtain grants/funding and achieve career growth;
• A commitment to the core values of communication, collaboration, innovation, action, and equity

The Chair of the Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine at UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI) is a full-time faculty position. Experience in the administration of externally supported research centers and training grants is desirable. Resources are available for intra- and trans-departmental program development, faculty recruitment, and cross-campus collaborations.

The salary is competitive and commensurate with the applicant’s experience and qualifications. The candidate should apply through requisition #220003DV. The review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The candidate should submit: 1) a letter of interest that addresses his/her motivation to apply and summarizes qualifications and professional achievements suitable to the Chair position, including an abbreviated vision for the department; 2) a statement that summarizes research, teaching, and service activities; 3) a full CV; and 4) contact information for three references, inclusive of titles and institutions.

For further information and details regarding this position, go to: http://p.rfer.us/UTHN58G7N 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

UTHealth Houston is committed to providing equal opportunity in all employment-related activities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law or university policy.

UTHealth Benefits

UTHealth Houston offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package. For more information on our benefits programs please refer to the UTHealth Houston Office of Benefits website.

UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics (SBMI). At SBMI, excellence in research, education, and service is pursued—and future academic and research leaders are trained. One of six schools at UTHealth Houston, SBMI is the sole free-standing school of biomedical informatics among more than 70 related programs in the nation, and one of the largest programs of its kind in the world. SBMI currently offers two doctoral degrees (i.e., the traditional PhD and a new practice-based Doctorate of Health Informatics, or DHI) and a Master's degree with two tracks, research and applied; it also features a number of graduate certificate programs in a variety of sub-disciplines of biomedical informatics, and multiple dual degree programs such as MS/MD, MS/MPH, and MS/PhD.  SBMI currently has 62 regular faculty and 65 adjunct faculty; augmenting the efforts of the faculty are 140 research staff and 50 administrative staff. SBMI currently has more than 400 graduate students focused on one or more of the following three academic concentrations:  Health Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Clinical and Health Informatics, and Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine. In Fiscal Year 2022, SBMI’s research expenditures are $23 million and operating budget is $32 million. UTHealth Houston School of Biomedical Informatics is Transforming Data to Power Human Health^™.

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston). UTHealth Houston is in the world-renowned Texas Medical Center (TMC), located in cosmopolitan Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the United States. UTHealth Houston is one of five health universities and eight academic universities that comprise the UT System. UTHealth Houston is UT System’s most comprehensive academic health center, and is home to 6 schools: School of Biomedical Informatics, McGovern Medical School, Cizik School of Nursing, School of Dentistry, MD Anderson Cancer Center-UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and School of Public Health. Currently, UTHealth Houston features more than 2,100 full- and part-time faculty, 6,700+ staff, and 5,700+ students, as well as 50,000 alumni, worldwide. UTHealth Houston has $2.2 billion operating budget, $290+ million research expenditures (ranks among the top Texas universities in terms of NIH funding), 2,000+ providers in 80+ clinical specialties and subspecialities, and 1.8 million annual patient visits to clinics.

Texas Medical Center (TMC). TMC was originally envisioned in the 1940s as an extensive medical district. Since that time, the TMC has become the world’s largest medical center—and home to 106,000 employees, 50,000 life science students, and thousands of volunteers. More than 160,000 people visit the TMC daily, with over 10 million patient encounters recorded annually. Among the 61 member institutions of the TMC are excellent hospitals, universities (e.g., UTHealth Houston), and health-related institutions that are eager to collaborate in the interest of advancing scientific research and patient care. Over the next few years, the TMC will complete the TMC Helix Park Campus, a 37-acre innovation complex and the TMC BioPort, a 500-acre biomanufacturing and medical supplies distribution center, that together will further expand its current 50 million square feet of medical, research, and office space, in the service of Greater Houston, Texas, and the nation.

Gulf Coast Consortium for Quantitative Biomedical Sciences (GCC). One of the largest interinstitutional cooperatives in the world, the GCC has 8 member institutions: UTHealth^® Houston, Rice University, the University of Houston, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health), and The Houston Methodist Research Institute. The Keck Center is the training arm of the GCC; it includes over 400 affiliated faculty and supports more than 50 trainees through competitive grants from a variety of sources, including the NLM T15 Training Grant for Biomedical Informatics and Data Science. The GCC’s research arm supports 700+ faculty representing many areas of expertise; it comprises consortia and clusters that serve to catalyze interinstitutional engagement and provide a supportive environment and expertise for collaborative research programs undertaken by GCC member institutions.

Requirements

Position Requirements:

• Applicants (PhD, MD, or equivalent) must have a distinguished record of research, teaching, service, and academic accomplishments that meet the criteria and high standards warranting appointment as a tenured full professor.
• Experience in assisting in the development and oversight of education programs that train and mentor the next generation of students, researchers, faculty, and professionals;
• Experience in creating a collaborative, positive, and productive work environment for all personnel, including faculty, staff, and students.