Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Animal Behavioural Neuroscience and the Brain-Heart Axis

University of Ottawa; Ontario; On-site; CAD 99,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Ottawa is seeking candidates for a Canada Research Chair in Animal Behavioural Neuroscience and the Brain-Heart Axis. This role combines research, teaching, and collaboration within the Faculty of Social Sciences, offering the opportunity to lead innovative studies on the link between brain and heart health.

Benefits

Complete benefits package

Long-term disability insurance

Generous funding package for research

Qualifications

• Proven track record in research and teaching.
• Ability to secure research funding.
• Bilingualism in English and French is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Implement an independent research program.
• Teach and supervise undergraduate and graduate students.
• Engage in scholarly activities and academic service.

Skills

Research achievements

Communication skills

Collaboration ability

Education

Ph.D. in psychology or neuroscience

Job description

The Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ottawa and the affiliated Brain-Heart Interconnectome (BHI) invites applications for a Canada Research Chair Tier 2 position in Animal Behavioural Neuroscience and the Brain-Heart Axis, to investigate the role of the brain-heart axis in neurodegeneration, cognitive impairment, or mental illness in animal models.

The candidate must have a world-class research program and an ambitious research agenda. The holder of the Chair will implement a creative and independent research program that is based on external research funding and will be actively involved with graduate student training. The Chair will be appointed to the School of Psychology, and will be expected to teach at both undergraduate and graduate levels and supervise undergraduate and graduate students in psychology.

The preferred candidate will use animal behaviour neuroscience models to investigate mechanistic interactions between brain and heart, including, but not limited to animal models of ischemia; neuroinflammation; transgenic neurodegenerative models; psychophysiology and stress reactivity; in-vivo neuroimaging.

The candidate will also be a member of the Brain-Heart Interconnectome (BHI). The BHI is a ground-breaking interdisciplinary research program designed to accelerate prevention, detection, treatment, and care of health conditions linked to the brain and the heart through research co-produced with patients and other knowledge users.

The School of Psychology is one of the nine departments, schools and institutes from the Faculty of Social Sciences. The Faculty offers undergraduate, Master’s and doctoral programs in both English and French. With its 10,000 students, 260 full-time professors, and wide array of programs, the Faculty of Social Sciences plays a key role at the heart of the University of Ottawa. Its graduate students are supervised by excellent researchers and undertake cutting-edge research in the Faculty’s Master’s and Ph.D. programs. The School of Psychology promotes research and training excellence. Our professors lead major laboratories, research centres, and institutes. The School of Psychology comprises a strong undergraduate program and two outstanding doctoral programs: Experimental Psychology and Clinical Psychology. All programs are offered in French and/or English. Finally, the School is passionate about equity, diversity, and inclusion. We recognize that systemic barriers have prevented many qualified people of colour, LGBTQ2S+ individuals, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups from fully participating in academia, and we are hoping to increase the diversity of the School of Psychology to better represent the Ottawa region and the country.

Located on the unceded territory of the Anishinaabe-Algonquin people, in the heart of the nation`s capital and in close proximity to multiple national agencies, the University of Ottawa is one of Canada's top ten research-intensive universities. It is recognised as the first and largest bilingual university in North America and offers strong connections to organisational, government and policy interest holders.

Tier2 Chairs, tenable for five years and renewable once, are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. The Chair comes with a generous funding package and partial teaching release. Candidates should, at a minimum, be assistant or associate professors, or possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed to these levels. Candidates who are more than 10 years from their highest degree must contact the University of Ottawa directly for questions related to their potential eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair. The institution may nominate a professor or a researcher who is more than 10 years from their highest degree at the time of nomination and has experienced legitimate career interruptions (see acceptable justifications). In such cases, the institution must submit to the Secretariat a formal justification (using the Tier 2 Justification Screening Form), explaining why the nominee is still considered to be an emerging scholar. The University recognizes the legitimate impact that leaves (e.g., parental leave, leave due to illness) can have on a candidate’s record of research achievement and that these leaves will be taken into careful consideration during the assessment process. New CRC nominees are also eligible for infrastructure support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to help acquire state-of-the-art equipment essential to their work.

Preferential Hiring: The University of Ottawa is committed to ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion in the scholarly and leadership environments of our students, staff, and faculty. Accordingly, we strongly encourage applications from skilled and experienced members of the four designated groups such as Indigenous Peoples, racialized individuals, persons with disabilities, women and gender equity-seeking groups, as defined in the CRC Program method for establishing equity targets and the Employment Equity Act, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively implement equity measures that ensure and retain diverse teams and promote inclusive practices for research team members. As part of this preferential hiring process, applications from members of the four designated groups will be prioritized and assessed first for the vacancy. The purpose of this measure is to increase the representation and contribution of members of the four designated groups in the allocation of Canada Research Chair positions. All candidates are asked to complete the confidential self-identification questionnaire during the application process online. Internal candidates such as professors, postdoctoral fellows, and students are not eligible.

Skills requirements:

• Education : Ph.D. in psychology or neuroscience (or a related field).
• Required Qualifications: superior research achievements in the CRC’s identified area(s) and proof of potential to develop national and international collaborations, a good record with respect to teaching and training of students at the undergraduate and/or graduate level, the ability to obtain external research funds. Excellent communication skills in either English or French. Active knowledge of one’s second official language (French or English) is a requirement for tenure. English-French bilingualism is an asset.

Duties: Academic staff functions include, in varying proportions:

• teaching
• scholarly activities such as research, artistic or literary creation, or professional work
• academic service
• graduate student supervision

Rank and salary: New tenure-track academic appointment in the Faculty of Social Sciences. The Assistant Professor salary scale starts at $99,377 and the Associate Professor salary scale starts at $109,776 (based on the collective agreement between APUO and the University of Ottawa as of May 1, 2025). Salaries are competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Benefits package: The University of Ottawa provides a complete benefits package, which includes long-term disability insurance, basic group life insurance, health insurance, University of Ottawa pension plan and optional life insurance, as well as reimbursement of eligible relocation expenses.

Location of work: School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5

Application package:

• A cover letter;
• An up-to-date curriculum vitae (Please include any personal circumstances and/or career interruptions such as parental or sick leaves that may have impacted your research trajectory. These will be taken into consideration in the selection process.);
• A research plan (2 to 3 pages);
• A statement of relevance to the BHI and commitment to a research co-production approach (research carried out in collaboration with community, patients, health professionals, policy makers and other knowledge users) (1 page);
• A statement of teaching interests (1 to 2 pages);
• A statement on equity, diversity, and inclusion philosophy and concrete practices (1 page);
• The names of three people whom may be contacted by the University for letters of reference which will follow the Canada Research Chairs guidelines (i.e. Tier 2: one arm’s length and two who are not affiliated to the University of Ottawa unless they are the candidate’s PhD or postdoctoral supervisor ); and
• Self-identification: Complete the confidential Employment equity questionnaire on the web portal during the application process. The Canada Research Chairs Program requires institutions to collect self-identification data from all applicants, following the program’sbest practices.

Deadline: August 6, 2025

More information regarding Academic Careers can be found online. Apply online through the University of Ottawa Careers portal.
The selection process will begin immediately after the closing date and will continue until the position is filled. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please address your cover letter to the following person:
Dr. Julie-St-Pierre, Interim Vice-President, Research and Innovation
University of Ottawa
550 Cumberland St., room 246
Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5 CANADA
For questions, please email: [e-mail]

Ad posted on June 6, 2025

The University of Ottawa is committed to ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion in the scholarly and leadership environments of our students, staff and faculty. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples in Canada, visible minority members (racialized persons), persons with disabilities, women and all qualified applicants with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with equitable, diverse and inclusive communities. Applicants who wish to be considered as a member of one or more designated groups should complete the confidential Self-Identification Questionnaire when they apply.

In accordance with government policy, all qualified candidates are invited to apply; however, preference will be given to Canadians and permanent residents. When submitting your application, please indicate if you are legally entitled to work in Canada.

The University of Ottawa provides accommodations for applicants with disabilities throughout the recruitment process. If you are invited to proceed in the selection process, please notify us of any accommodations that you require by emailing the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Relations, at [e-mail]. Any information you send us will be handled respectfully and in complete confidence.

The University of Ottawa is proud of its more than 175-year tradition of bilingualism. Through its Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, the University provides second-language training to staff members and their spouses.