Assistant Professor-Department of Biostatistics (F75210)

Mission or Goal of Unit: The Department of Biostatistics is housed in the School of Public Health at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The department's mission is to improve human health through methodological research, graduate education, and collaboration with health science researchers on biostatistical methods and applications. Our focus includes designing and conducting novel clinical trials for investigating potential cancer therapies. We collaborate with public health research teams on complicated, hierarchical, and multifaceted health problems. As educators, we aim to train the next generation of biostatisticians, bioinformaticians, and data scientists in methodological, collaborative, and leadership skills. The department is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. For more details, please visit https://biostatistics.vcu.edu/

The mission of the Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center (MCCC) is to serve as a comprehensive center of excellence in cancer research, prevention and control, patient care and education. Our guiding principles are to make important discoveries about cancer and to translate these discoveries rapidly into better prevention, detection, treatment and control of cancer to enhance the quality of life of all individuals affected by cancer.

Located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, VCU is a premier urban, public research university committed to student success and community service. One of just a handful of universities to receive both a "Very High Research Activity" status and a "Community Engaged" designation from the Carnegie Foundation, VCU also boasts nine programs in the U.S. News and World Report's top 10, as well as the region's top-rated medical center. Richmond's lively and welcoming city provides the ideal backdrop for VCU's academic work. Rich in culture and history, the city becomes a living laboratory where our faculty, staff, and students can tackle problems directly affecting our local communities and see the impact of their work first-hand.

Chief Purpose of this position: The Department of Biostatistics at the School of Public Health (SoPH) at VCU invites applications for a full-time 12-month faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor (open tenure status). We seek applicants with expertise in bioinformatics, computer science, or biostatistics who can contribute to the Bioinformatics Core through collaborations with researchers, successfully compete for extramural funding, develop their own program of research, and contribute to the teaching mission of the department.

Position Responsibilities:

Teaching: The faculty member will share a deep commitment to effective instruction, creation of innovative courses, and mentoring students in research, outreach, and professional development related to the Biostatistics graduate programs.

Research: The faculty will engage in research and develop interdisciplinary collaborations in support of the core mission. Strong training and research in Bioinformatics and its applications in relevant cancer research projects are required. The faculty contributes to VCU’s national reputation through research and scholarship (extramural funding, high quality publications, citations, and national recognition as through honorific awards and committee leadership) and maintains active involvement in appropriate national or international organizations and bodies. MCCC conducts basic science, translational, clinical and population sciences research on cancer, and includes scientists and physicians from 36 academic departments, 6 schools, and 1 college at VCU. Spanning across multiple cancer types, the key interdisciplinary scientific programs at the MCCC include Cancer Biology, Cancer Prevention and Control, Developmental Therapeutics.

Service: Faculty members will serve on Departmental, College, and/or University committees as necessary, as well as in a professional capacity in their field (e.g., reviewer, conference organizer, etc.)

Required Qualifications:

• Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree in Computer science, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics or a closely related field
• Cancer-relevant research experience
• Experience in developing Bioinformatics tools and pipelines and applying them to biomedical research
• Experience in high throughput sequencing data analysis
• Experience in working with a multi-disciplinary team
• Proven publication record in the area of Bioinformatics and collaborative cancer research
• Commitment to research excellence, establishing collaborations across the University, developing a multidisciplinary, independent research program and securing external grant funding
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment, or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications:

• Postdoctoral research training experience
• Strong programing skills in R and Python
• Experience with biological datasets
• Experience in AI, large language model and deep learning
• Experience in trainee mentorship

ORP Eligible: Yes