Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology

University of California; Davis (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

University of California, Davis invites applications for an Assistant Professor position in Plant Pathology with emphasis on plant health and microbiomes. This is a 9-month, tenure-track appointment that includes duties in research, outreach, and service.

The appointee will build a competitive microbiome science program, address plant diseases, guide students, teach courses on the microbiome of plants and related topics, and collaborate with Cooperative Extension and other stakeholders.

Qualifications

• PhD by start of position in plant pathology, microbiology, microbial ecology, or related field.
• Experience with microbial communities in healthy and diseased plants.
• Ability to develop externally funded research program.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead an externally funded research program in plant microbiome science.
• Teach and develop courses in plant health and microbiomes.
• Train and mentor graduate and undergraduate students.
• Engage with Cooperative Extension and public stakeholders.

Job description

The Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis is recruiting an Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology with an emphasis on plant health and microbiomes. This is an academic year (9-month), tenure-track Assistant Professor position that includes an appointment in the California Agricultural Experiment Station (AES), with responsibility for research and outreach relevant to the AES mission, as well as university service.

The appointee is expected to establish a competitive, externally funded research program in plant microbiome science that addresses critical and emerging issues in plant pathology. The program should advance microbiome-informed approaches to the diagnosis, prediction, and/or management of plant diseases and develop science-based solutions to promote plant health. Research should generate fundamental and applied understanding of the composition, function, and/or dynamics of plant-associated microbial communities (including bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, viruses, and/or other microorganisms) and their interactions with plant hosts and each other. Areas of interest may include disease-suppressive microbiomes, dysbiosis and pathobiomes, host-microbiome-pathogen interactions, pathogen-pathogen and pathogen-nonpathogen interactions, disease complexes and multi-infections, microbiome engineering, synthetic communities, and the ecology and evolution of pathogens within the phytomicrobiome. Research may also address climate-driven changes in plant-microbiome interactions and emerging diseases, span model, agricultural, and/or natural plant systems, and should have a strong mechanistic and/or predictive foundation. The appointee will complement existing departmental strengths in plant-microbe interactions, disease epidemiology, and disease management, while expanding microbiome-informed approaches relevant to food security, agricultural sustainability, climate resilience, and the broader One Health framework.

The appointee will be expected to teach GDB103: The Microbiome of People, Animals and Plants, a 3-unit, upper-division undergraduate course that serves Global Disease Biology (GDB) and other students. The appointee is also expected to contribute to required GDB courses, such as GDB90: Introduction to Global Disease Biology, GDB 187: Global Disease Biology Seminar, and PMI129Y: One Health: Human, Animal & Environment Interfaces, and will have opportunities to contribute to graduate courses such as PLP201B: Ecology and Epidemiology of Plant Pathogenic Organisms and PLP298: Microbial Ecology.

Training and mentoring of graduate students, undergraduate student advising, curricular development, outreach, and departmental and university service are expected. The successful candidate will be an active member of the Plant Pathology Graduate Program and other graduate groups as appropriate and will have opportunities to collaborate with Cooperative Extension specialists and advisors, relevant industries, and other public stakeholders.

This recruitment is conducted at the Assistant Professor rank, and the resulting appointment will be at that rank regardless of the appointee's qualifications.

Initial review of applications will be conducted using anonymized versions of the Statement of Research Accomplishments and Interests. Applications demonstrating sufficient potential based on this review will advance to full review, at which time letters of recommendation will be requested and included in subsequent evaluations.

UC Davis supports Family-friendly recruitments. UC Davis covers travel expenses for a second person to accompany an invited faculty recruitment candidate who is a mother (or single parent of either gender) of a breast or bottle-feeding child less than two years of age. Work Life

UC Davis recognizes the necessity of supporting faculty with efforts to integrate work, family and other work-life considerations. To recruit and retain the best faculty, the campus sponsors a Work LifeProgram that provides programs and services that support faculty as they strive to honor their commitments to work, home and community. Academic Affairs

The UC Davis Partner Opportunities Program (POP) and Capital Resource Network (CRN) are services designed to support departments and Deans’ offices in the recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty. For information about POP, please visit Partner Opportunities Program (POP). For information about the CRN, please visit Capital Resource Network (CRN). Please note eligibility for these programs may be based on policy and funding availability.

Ph.D. in plant pathology, microbiology, microbial ecology, or a related field with experience, interest, and academic coursework related to microbial communities of healthy and diseased plants. Degree must be awarded by start of position.