Assistant Professor-Department of Biostatistics (F53040, F32430) - Virginia Commonwealth University

Mission or Goal of Unit: The Department ofBiostatistics is housed in the recently formed School of Public Health (SoPH) atVirginia Commonwealth University (VCU). With a 40+ year history within VCU’sAcademic Health campus, the Department is committed to excellence, with amission to improve human health through methodological research, graduateeducation, and collaboration with health science researchers on biostatisticalmethods and applications. Majority of our biostatistics faculty, students, and staff collaborate with clinical investigatorson the VCU Academic Health campus (which includes the Schools of Medicine,Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, the College of Health Professions, the MasseyComprehensive Cancer Center) in a wide variety of complicated, hierarchical, andmultifaceted health problems. As educators, we aim to train the next generationof biostatisticians, bioinformaticians, and data scientists in methodological,collaborative, and leadership skills by offering both M.S. and Ph.D. programsin Biostatistics, including a concentration in Genomic Biostatistics, and aM.S. in Clinical Research in Biostatistics. The department is committed tofostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. For more details,please visit https://biostatistics.vcu.edu/

Located in the heart ofRichmond, Virginia, VCU is a premier urban, public research university,committed to student success and community service. One of just a handful ofuniversities to receive both a "Very High Research Activity (R1 status)",and a "Community Engaged" designation from the Carnegie Foundation,VCU also boasts nine programs in the U.S. News and World Report's top 10, aswell as the region's top-rated medical center. Richmond's lively and welcomingcity provides the ideal backdrop for VCU's academic work. Rich in culture andhistory, the city becomes a living laboratory where our faculty, staff, andstudents can tackle problems directly affecting our local communities and seethe impact of their work first-hand.

Chief Purpose of this position: TheDepartment of Biostatistics at Virginia Commonwealth University invitesapplications for two, full-time, 12-month, tenure-track faculty positions atthe rank of Assistant Professor. One position will focus on candidates withexpertise in methodology development and applications of AI/ML (such as, deeplearning, transfer learning, large language models, generative AI, etc) andother Data Science techniques, leading to a state-of-the-art predictivemodeling in biomedicine. The candidate is expected to have significantcomputational knowledge in Python, C++, GPU programming, and in other relevantAI/ML platforms, and thus contribute to the teaching and research mission ofthe department. The other position will seek candidates with broad researchexpertise; in particular, candidates with specific expertise in topics thatinclude, but are not limited to, spatial and spatio-temporal methodology,causal inference, handling and analyzing electronic health records and nationalsurvey data, dynamic treatment regime and precision medicine, functional data,advanced Bayesian methods, and big data are encouraged to apply. The Department isone of the highest funded entities within the newly formed SoPH, thus offeringremarkable opportunities towards the growth of the research trajectory. The faculty members are expected to foster the tripartite mission (excellencein teaching, research and service) of the department by successfully competingfor independent and collaborative extramural funding, developing their ownprogram of research, and contributing to the teaching mission of thedepartment.

Position Responsibilities: 

Teaching: Thefaculty member will share a deep commitment to effective instruction, creationof innovative courses, and mentoring students in research, outreach, andprofessional development related to the Biostatistics graduate programs. Inaddition to teaching courses that align with their research expertise, they arealso expected to teach basic (and sometimes, introductory level) graduate biostatisticscourses. The usual teaching load is 2 courses per year (1 each semester), butit is also dependent on the percentage of generated extramural support.

Research: Thefaculty members are expected to generate solid methodological publications, andthus develop their own research program leading to principal-investigatorinitiated extramural funding. They are also heavily encouraged to engage incollaborations with investigators within various Schools and Colleges of theVCU Academic Health campus, as well as across the university, publish, and seekextramural funding.

Service: Thefaculty members are expected to serve on Departmental, School, and/orUniversity committees as necessary, as well as in a professional capacity intheir discipline of interest (e.g., reviewer, conference organizer, etc.)

Required Qualifications: 

• Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree in Biostatistics, Statistics, Bioinformatics, Computer science, or a closely related field
• Proven publication record in the area of biostatistics, statistics, and/or computer science
• Ability to work independently
• Proficiency in statistical software, such as Python, R, SAS, or STATA
• Ability to establish their own program of research developing novel methodologies
• Strong collaborative skills and ability to conduct complex statistical analysis
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment, or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Postdoctoral research training experience
• Experience in trainee mentorship
• Teaching experience at the graduate or undergraduate level
• Experience developing grant proposals.

ORP Eligible: Yes

Position Type: Teaching & Research Faculty
Full time equivalent: 100
Tenure: Tenure Track
Rank: Assistant Professor
Months: 12
Department:Department of Biostatistics

Salary: Commensurate

Contact Information:
Contact Name: Carrie Boyd
Contact Email: 
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