Associate Professor or Professor - Human Translational Infectious Disease and Immunology

Oregon Health & Science University, Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Start-up funds

Office and research space

Access to shared resources

Joint or secondary appointments

Health benefits and retirement options

Job summary

Oregon Health & Science University’s Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) in Portland invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. The successful candidate will lead an independent, externally funded program focused on human translational infectious disease or immunology.

The appointment includes start‑up resources, space, access to shared facilities, and opportunities for joint appointments aligned with expertise.

Qualifications

• Ph.D., M.D., M.D./Ph.D., D.V.M., or equivalent terminal degree
• Academic accomplishments appropriate for appointment at the Associate Professor or Professor level
• Established record of high-impact scholarship in infectious disease, immunology, or related field
• Sustained record of peer-reviewed extramural research support as PI or lead
• Independence in developing and directing a productive research program
• Substantive experience with human translational research involving cohorts or patient data
• Record of effective collaboration across disciplines
• Demonstrated excellence in mentoring trainees and staff
• Commitment to rigor, responsible conduct, and inclusive environment

Responsibilities

• Establish, maintain, and grow an independent, recognized research program
• Sustain a strong portfolio of extramural funding and collaborate programmatically
• Connect human cohorts with mechanistic studies and models when relevant
• Build collaborations across units and external partners
• Publish influential scholarship and communicate findings
• Recruit, supervise, mentor, and develop a research team
• Contribute to graduate, professional, or medical education and seminars
• Foster a rigorous, ethical, collegial research environment
• Participate in Institute and University service as appropriate

Skills

Independent research leadership

Collaborative researcher

Mentoring

Research rigor

Education

Ph.D., M.D., M.D./Ph.D., D.V.M., or equivalent

Academic accomplishments appropriate for associate/professor

Experience with human translational research

Job description

The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. Academic rank, faculty track, tenure status, departmental appointment, and compensation will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience and determined in accordance with OHSU policy.

VGTI seeks an accomplished, collaborative scientist whose research is centered on human translational infectious disease or immunology. The successful candidate will lead an innovative, externally funded research program that uses human populations, clinical cohorts, biospecimens, or patient-linked data to define mechanisms of infection and immunity and accelerate the development or evaluation of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, biomarkers, or curative strategies. The VGTI is particularly interested in investigators who can create durable connections among human disease, mechanistic discovery, experimental models, and clinical translation.

Relevant areas include, but are not limited to:

• Human immune responses to acute, chronic, latent, emerging, or re-emerging infections
• Vaccine immunology, immune correlates of protection, antigen discovery, and immune monitoring
• Pathogen persistence, latency, reservoirs, immune evasion, and mechanisms of treatment response or failure
• Immunity across the lifespan, including pediatric immunity, immune aging, and infection in immunocompromised population
• Translational systems immunology; single-cell, spatial, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, or computational approaches
• Biomarker, diagnostic, therapeutic, or vaccine development using human cohorts and biospecimens
• Clinical and translational research addressing HIV, herpesviruses, tuberculosis, malaria, emerging viruses, or other infectious diseases that complement and extend VGTI strengths

VGTI brings together multidisciplinary investigators to address serious infectious disease threats and to move discoveries from molecular and cellular studies through animal models and ultimately into clinical testing. Current strengths include HIV/AIDS, herpesvirus biology, tuberculosis, malaria, emerging viruses with pandemic potential, viral pathogenesis, vaccine development, host-pathogen interactions, and the immunology of aging.

Located on OHSU's West Campus adjacent to ONPRC, VGTI provides access to biosafety level 3 laboratories and advanced technologies that include spatial profiling, single-cell transcriptomics, flow cytometry, genomics, virology, advanced imaging, quantitative PCR, and proteomics. OHSU's clinical programs and statewide partnerships create significant opportunities to expand human-focused investigation. The Division of Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine links clinical care and translational research across HIV, mycobacterial disease, infections in immunocompromised hosts, viral immunology, antimicrobial resistance, fungal and parasitic infections, and related fields, while the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) supports recruitment, biospecimen access, study coordination, and community engagement.

OHSU is Oregon's only public academic health center and integrates research, education, clinical care, and statewide service. Its mission explicitly emphasizes interdisciplinary inquiry and translation of basic, clinical, and applied discoveries into health applications.

The successful candidate will:

• Establish, maintain, and grow an independent, nationally or internationally recognized research program in human translational infectious disease or immunology
• Sustain a strong portfolio of peer-reviewed extramural funding and pursue collaborative, multi-investigator, programmatic, or center-level opportunities when appropriate
• Develop research that connects human cohorts, clinical specimens, or patient-derived data with mechanistic studies and, where relevant, small-animal or nonhuman-primate models
• Build productive collaborations across VGTI, ONPRC, OHSU clinical and basic-science units, and external academic, community, government, nonprofit, and industry partners
• Publish influential scholarship and communicate findings to scientific, clinical, and public audiences
• Recruit, supervise, mentor, and develop a high-performing research team, including staff scientists, research staff, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career investigators
• Contribute to graduate, professional, or medical education and to the intellectual life of VGTI through seminars, working groups, team science, and service
• Foster a rigorous, ethical, collegial, and inclusive research and training environment
• Participate in Institute and University service appropriate to rank and experience

Qualifications Required

• Ph.D., M.D., M.D./Ph.D., D.V.M., or equivalent terminal degree in a relevant discipline
• Academic accomplishments appropriate for appointment at the Associate Professor or Professor level
• Established record of high-impact scholarship in infectious disease, immunology, or a closely related field
• Sustained record of peer-reviewed extramural research support as a principal investigator or equivalent scientific lead
• Demonstrated independence in developing and directing a productive research program
• Substantive experience with human translational research involving cohorts, clinical samples, patient-linked data, clinical studies, or closely related approaches
• Record of effective collaboration across scientific or clinical disciplines
• Demonstrated excellence in mentoring trainees and research staff
• Commitment to research rigor, responsible conduct, collegiality, and an environment in which people with varied backgrounds and perspectives can thrive

Qualifications Preferred

• Experience leading multi-investigator grants, research networks, clinical-translational programs, or cross-institutional collaborations
• Research that complements VGTI strengths while adding new human-focused capabilities, cohorts, technologies, or disease areas
• Experience translating mechanistic findings into vaccines, diagnostics, biomarkers, therapeutics, clinical studies, or public-health applications
• Established collaborations with clinical investigators, health systems, communities, industry, government agencies, or international research partners
• For physician-scientists, relevant specialty training and eligibility for Oregon licensure if clinical effort will be included

The appointment will include competitive start-up support, research and office space, access to OHSU and VGTI shared resources, and opportunities for joint or secondary appointments aligned with the successful candidate’s expertise. The final distribution of research, teaching, service, and any clinical effort will be negotiated at appointment. OHSU offers health coverage, retirement options, paid time off, professional-development resources, and other employee benefits.

Questions may be directed to Afam Okoye, VGTI Professor and Chair of the Search Committee at [e-mail], or Heidi White, VGTI Administrative Director at [e-mail].

OHSU is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. Applicants who require an accommodation during the hiring process may contact OHSU's Office of Civil Rights Investigations and Compliance at 503-494-5148 or [e-mail].