Assistant/Associate Professor in Biological Sciences

Purdue University Institute of CHIPS and AI; West Lafayette (IN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Purdue University invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level with a focus on Structural Biology for therapeutics development.

We seek an experimental researcher who integrates biophysical techniques with modern computational tools, including AI and machine learning, to resolve macromolecular functions and drive translational discovery.

Qualifications

• PhD in a field related to the research scope by the employment start date.
• A record of research excellence and productivity commensurate with rank.
• Demonstrated potential or record of interdisciplinary collaboration and impactful scholarship.
• Commitment to teaching and student mentorship.

Responsibilities

• Establish a vigorous, externally funded research program.
• Contribute to the education and mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students.
• Collaborate across disciplines to solve complex global one-health challenges.

Skills

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Mentorship

Biological sciences knowledge

Education

PhD in relevant field

Job description

Intelligent Medicines - Structural Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University

As part of a transformative, university-wide initiative in One Health- Intelligent Medicines, the Purdue University Department of Biological Sciences invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level with a focus on Structural Biology for the development of next generation therapeutics. This position builds on the world-renowned legacy of innovation in structural and computational biology and biophysics at Purdue aiming to bridge next-generation structure determination with advanced computational workflows to accelerate molecular insights and therapeutic discovery. We seek a forward-thinking, experimental researcher who integrates advanced physical and biophysical techniques with modern computational tools (including artificial intelligence and machine learning) to resolve impactful biological functions of complex macromolecular structures, dynamic assemblies, and cellular machinery.

Areas of Research Interest

• Biomolecular Design & Therapeutics: Leveraging structure determination (e.g. via X-ray crystallography) and computational/AI workflows to design novel biologics, study drug-target interactions, or pioneer therapeutic innovations.
• Computational & Predictive Biochemistry: Developing or leveraging advanced tools for macromolecular modeling, biological image analysis, or AI-driven functional genomics.
• Next-Generation Structural Approaches: Pushing the boundaries of cryo-electron microscopy/tomography (cryo-EM/ET), in situ structural biology, or multi-modal scaling.

The Department of Biological Sciences is the largest department in the Life Sciences at Purdue, with a longstanding legacy of excellence and international leadership in structural and computational biology and biophysics and research spanning biological scales from molecules to ecosystems. The successful candidate will join a vibrant, highly collaborative community of researchers with access to state-of-the‑art cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography facilities and extensive high-performance computing resources via Purdue Computes and the Purdue Institute for Physical AI.

Purdue's One Health Initiative

This strategic recruitment will help advance Purdue's One Health initiative (https://www.purdue.edu/onehealth/) which seeks to tackle complex challenges with real-world impact at the intersection of human, animal, and plant health. This recruitment initiative builds on previous strategic faculty recruitment initiatives in: (1) Integrated Health; (2) AI-Driven Biomolecular Design, and (3) Advanced Chemistry. In addition, a parallel strategic faculty recruitment initiative in Healthy and Resilient Living Systems is ongoing. Through academic programs, research, facility infrastructure and industry partnerships, Purdue is making giant leaps in improving health outcomes for all living things and driving economic growth regionally and globally. This strategic faculty recruitment initiative focused on Intelligent Medicines is expected to build on prior recruitment initiatives and existing Purdue research and academic strengths, to transform research and impact human, animal and environmental health by bridging silos and fostering collaboration across disciplines.

The Intelligent Medicines theme seeks to create a framework that improves human, animal, and environmental health through the integration of technology, data, and systems thinking. This faculty recruitment initiative is disease agnostic and aims to establish new capabilities in AI-enabled therapeutic development, non-animal models of disease, advanced manufacturing, intelligent health systems, digital twins, robotics, human factors, supply chain resilience, and health technology innovation. By combining strengths in device innovation, computational intelligence, manufacturing systems, and healthcare operations, Purdue intends to create a highly visible flagship that strengthens industry engagement, expands workforce development opportunities, and attracts significant external funding.

Qualifications

• A PhD degree in a field related to the research scope described above by the employment start date
• A record of research excellence and productivity commensurate with rank
• Demonstrated potential or record of interdisciplinary collaboration and impactful scholarship
• Commitment to teaching and student mentorship

Faculty Responsibilities

• Establish a vigorous, externally funded research program
• Contribute to the education and mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students
• Collaborate across disciplines to solve complex global one-health challenges

Integration within the Purdue One Health Community

Collectively, the strategic faculty recruitment initiatives represent a forward-thinking investment in Purdue’s research infrastructure and academic excellence. Faculty hired as part of these One Health strategic faculty recruitment initiatives will be supported as part of the overall One Health community. Together, these faculty members are expected to work across diverse disciplines, enhance Purdue’s external funding potential, and drive innovation at the intersection of health, environment, food, and economics. In addition to joining an academic unit, faculty hired under this initiative will have the opportunity to join a vibrant ecosystem of interdisciplinary centers and institutes, including the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research and the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery. Furthermore, with Purdue's expanding presence in Indianapolis, including Purdue University in Indianapolis and the surrounding hard tech corridor, faculty will have additional opportunities for collaboration with clinical, industry, and translational partners.

Purdue University is an equal opportunity/equal access university.