Associate Professor – Tissue and Disease Biology

The Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in the area of tissue and disease biology. The appointment will be at the rank of Associate Professor, with an expected start date of October 1, 2024, or shortly thereafter.

All qualified candidates are invited to apply online by clicking the link below. Applicants must submit 1) a cover letter; 2) a current curriculum vitae that includes information regarding their most significant scientific contributions (up to five) as they relate to the application; 3) a one-page summary that includes education/training history and a 350-word abstract of their research plan; 4) a statement of current and long- term research interests (three to five pages); 5) a teaching dossier (as outlined above), including a one page statement of teaching philosophy and interests; and 6) an equity and diversity statement (half page). Each section should start on a new page and include a header with the candidate’s name and the section title.

In addition, applicants must provide the name and contact information of three references. The University of Toronto’s recruiting tool will automatically solicit and collect letters of reference from each referee the day after an application is submitted. Applicants remain responsible for ensuring that references submit recent letters (on letterhead, dated and signed) by the closing date. More details on the automatic reference letter collection, including timelines, are available in the candidate FAQ.

Submission guidelines can be found at http://uoft.me/how-to-apply. Your CV and cover letter should be uploaded into the dedicated fields. Please combine additional application materials into one or two files in PDF/MS Word format.

If you have any questions about this position, please contact Ms. Sylvie Besnard at donnelly.facultysearch@utoronto.ca.

All application materials, including recent reference letters, must be received by December 18, 2023.

 All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

The candidate will actively participate in the research and teaching ecosystems of the Donnelly Centre and the Department of Molecular Genetics, where the successful candidate will have a graduate appointment that will also provide access to outstanding graduate students.

Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

State-of-the-art research space will be provided in the Donnelly Centre, which is in the heart of downtown Toronto, one of the safest and most diverse metropolitan areas in the world. The Donnelly Centre is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Toronto with the mandate to create a research environment that encourages integration of diverse fields, including functional genomics, computer science, engineering, chemistry, physics and biology, and that spans leading areas of biomedical research (https://thedonnellycentre.utoronto.ca). Toronto is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city, one of the most desirable in the world in which to work and live, and a major centre for advanced computer, medical and biological technologies. The University of Toronto has one of the most concentrated biomedical research communities in the world, including 10 fully affiliated academic hospitals/research institutes. This community attracts more than$1.4B in annual research investment. See the 2022 Research and Innovation Annual Report.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. We seek candidates who value diversity and whose research, teaching, and service bear out our commitment to equity. Candidates must therefore submit a brief statement of contributions to equity and diversity, which might cover topics such as (but not limited to): research or teaching that incorporates a focus on underrepresented communities, the development of inclusive pedagogies, or the mentoring of students from underrepresented groups.

We seek a colleague whose research and teaching interests complement and strengthen our existing scientific community, which encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative technology development. The successful candidate must have a Ph.D. in a relevant field, with an exceptional track record in stem cell technologies, organoid or other complex cellular models of normal and disease tissues and biological mechanisms. Evidence of innovation and integration of machine learning or other computational methods, and/or automation and high-throughput experimentation is also required. Specific areas of interest include but are not limited to: stem cell or organoid technologies, organ-on-a-chip, 3D culturing of heterogenous cell assemblies, high-throughput phenotyping approaches for identifying differences between normal and perturbed organoids or tissues, and/or the use of high throughput genetic, functional genomic or chemical biology approaches to reveal molecular mechanisms. The candidate will receive institutional support to establish an interdisciplinary research program that will benefit from being embedded in the interactive Donnelly Centre community of experimental and computational biologists. Alignment with the research mission of the newly created Acceleration Consortium—a university initiative to accelerate science using AI, automation, and high- throughput experimentation— is an asset. Candidates should have an established track record in a relevant field (including but not limited to stem cell biology, model systems of disease, regenerative medicine, chemical biology, artificial intelligence).

The successful candidate will demonstrate evidence of excellence in research, innovative scholarship, and teaching. They will also have an established international reputation and will be expected to sustain and lead innovative and independent research, and to maintain an outstanding, competitive, and externally funded research program.

Evidence of excellence in research will be demonstrated through: i) a sustained record of peer-reviewed publications as senior responsible author in high-impact journals in the field of tissue and disease biology, with impact and reach of research nationally and internationally; ii) competitive, national and international grants as principal investigator with an established, independent and innovative research program; iii) invited and peer reviewed presentations at significant national and international conferences consistent with career stage; iv) distinguished awards and accolades; v) the submitted research statement; and vi) strong endorsements by referees of high standing in the academic community.

Evidence of excellence in teaching will be demonstrated through: i) teaching accomplishments at the undergraduate and graduate levels; ii) the teaching dossier submitted as part of the application, including a strong statement of teaching philosophy, sample syllabi or other teaching materials, and teaching evaluations; and iii) strong letters of reference.