Faculty Leadership Position, Patient Research Center

Virginia Tech (VT) seeks to recruit an innovative and experienced physician-scientist leader to its new Patient Research Center (PRC) at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC (FBRI) for a tenured (as approved by the VT BOV) faculty leadership position at the full professor level. The PRC initiative has received substantial funding support to launch this major exciting new program.

The successful physician-scientist candidate will preferably have both earned M.D as well as other appropriate research degrees such as the Ph.D., M.Sc. or M.S.P.H., and have completed clinical residency/fellowship in an appropriate sub-specialty in either the clinical neurosciences, cardiovascular sciences or medicine/oncology as well as have an extramurally funded research program that includes human patient based clinical research in either ambulatory, in-patient and/or remote tele-health settings. Applications from investigators with considerable leadership experience in clinical and translational research are particularly welcomed. The faculty member will join 44 other faculty led teams at the FBRI, and will serve as the leader of Virginia Tech’s new PRC.

The primary responsibilities for the position are to carry out leading-edge clinical research with an additional major leadership component for the entire PRC, particularly as the program grows. The individual will be expected to devote 20-30% of their effort to clinical research and related activities that will be arranged with our clinical partners, the Carilion Clinic and the appropriate home department at Carilion Clinic and in the VTC School of Medicine. The position will also involve leadership in the identification and recruitment of additional faculty to the PRC.

The position will be located at the FBRI on Virginia Tech’s health sciences and technology campus in Roanoke, Virginia, immediately adjacent to the VTC School of Medicine, Carilion Clinic and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. In addition to the position at the FBRI and the faculty appointment in the VTCSOM, the faculty member will also have the opportunity for additional appointments from among other colleges at VT.

The successful candidate will join a dynamic and growing community of scholars including scientists, physicians and physician-scientists focused on next generation approaches to patient-based research directed at having dramatic impacts on prevention, diagnoses, treatment and cure of disorders that may manifest early in development, throughout adulthood or during the aging process. Areas of research emphasis could include disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases, developmental brain disorders, autoimmunity, heart disease, mental health, cerebrovascular disorders including stroke, cancer diagnostics including biomarkers, cancer immunotherapy, cell and gene therapies, disease prevention including through exercise and healthy nutrition.

Research infrastructure at the FBRI currently includes over 300,000 square feet of lab, human subjects research space, core facilities and office space. Facilities at the research institute include multiple human subject research-dedicated 3.0T MRIs, high field MR guided PET and MR-guided focused ultrasound for animal research, optically pumped magnetometers (OPM-MEG) for individual human subject and dyadic studies, multiple cellular/molecular imaging facilities including transcriptomics and genomics analysis as well as multiple behavioral testing suites for animals and humans, in addition to two human whole room calorimeters, DEXA facility and metabolic kitchen and dining areas for the study of human eating behaviors. The PRC will have its own dedicated administrative and research space.

Required Qualifications

The successful physician-scientist candidate will preferably have both earned M.D and Ph.D. degrees and have completed clinical residency/fellowship in an appropriate sub-specialty, as well as have an extramurally funded research program that includes human patient based clinical research in either ambulatory, in-patient and/or remote tele-health settings.

Record of significant accomplishment of research innovation and productivity through high quality publications and extramural funding.