Associate Professor or Professor

Department Overview

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 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.

Function/Duties of Position

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.

 

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.

Required Qualifications

• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.

Additional Details

Appointment and support

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.

 

Please include with your application:

• A cover letter describing interest in VGTI and the fit of the applicant’s research with this opportunity.
• A curriculum vitae, including complete publication and funding history.
• A research statement of up to three pages describing major accomplishments, current program, and future plans at OHSU.
• A one-page statement describing mentoring philosophy and specific approaches to building an effective, collaborative, and inclusive research environment.
• Names and contact information for at least three professional references; references will be contacted only with the candidate’s permission.

Applications must be submitted through https://facultycareers-ohsu.icims.com/jobs/intro (Requisition 2026-42380).

 

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

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington. All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply. To request reasonable accommodation, contact [email protected]