Six Faculty Positions at UBC in Biological Resilience

Multi Career-stage, Diversity Cluster Hire

The Life Sciences Institute’s (LSI) recent designation as a Global Research Excellence Institute at the University of British Columbia (UBC), prompted the launch of the Biological Resilience Initiative. This initiative signals a moment of renewal, a push into the future, and a chance to change the lens by which we view health and disease. In 4 billion years of evolution, all living organisms and communities have developed mechanisms to protect them from both internal and external threats. We call these protective mechanisms ‘resilience’. We are looking for individuals to join us in fulfilling our mission to elucidate the mechanisms underlying biological resilience at molecular, genetic, cellular and organismal levels. The LSI is conducting a multi career-stage, diversity-focused, cluster search at all ranks. We are looking for creative people who approach science differently to answer impactful questions, such as: 

• Why do some people never gain weight, are protected from diabetes, and live longer? 
• Can we learn to heal our bodies from animals that regenerate whole limbs? 
• Why are some people more susceptible to one disease and protected from another? 
• Can we use complex human tissues in the lab to understand human physiology and design new therapies? 
• Can we push the limits of what microscopes can do, both in terms of resolution and speed? 
• Can we push the limits of ‘omics technologists to the single-cell level, and beyond? 

Examples of relevant research areas include, but are not limited to:  

• Resilience in metabolism and aging in emerging model systems 
• Resilience in tissue regeneration in model systems 
• Genetics of human health underlying resiliency to disease 
• Resilience and disease modeled with human tissue models  
• Imaging technologies that provide unprecedented insight in living systems 
• Emerging single-cell metabolomics, proteomics, or genomics to uncover resilience 

The LSI is Canada’s largest Life Science-focused institute, with 85 labs across 4 Faculties and 9 Departments housed in 560,000 square-feet of modern space with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a growing culture of shared core facilities. In the past decade, LSI researchers have secured >$400M and trained >2000 of tomorrow’s science leaders. The LSI has re-organized into 20 Research Focus Teams, including ones dedicated to pre-clinical research in Aging, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, COVID-19, Crohn’s and Colitis, Diabetes, Fertility, Lung Diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, Obesity and Rare Diseases. The LSI is committed to creating an equitable, inclusive, and diverse environment so that historically persistently, or systemically marginalized groups and individuals are treated equitably, feel respected, and belong. We welcome applications from scientists with an interest in promoting equity and inclusion among diverse scientists. 

UBC is a global hub for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the world’s top 20 public universities. 

Vancouver, Canada is consistently ranked among the best cities in the world to live in. 

We are looking early, mid, and advanced career candidates for the following faculty positions that are open to all applicants with a Ph.D, and/or M.D, or equivalent academic qualifications: 

Two established investigators for Tier 1 Canada Research Chairs (CRC) – 100% salary from UBC (http://www.chairs.gc.ca/)

Two emerging investigators for Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs (CRC) – 100% salary from UBC  (http://www.chairs.gc.ca/)

Two new full time, tenure-track Assistant Professors – 100% salary from UBC  

Successful candidates will be primarily housed within the Faculty of Medicine in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, the School of Biomedical Engineering, the Department of Medical Genetics, or the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Some of the positions will hold cross-appointments within the Faculty of Science in the Department of Zoology or the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. An appropriate academic unit will be identified at the time the successful candidates are selected, contingent upon the candidates’ area of expertise. Appointments to the School of Biomedical Engineering require that Applicants must either be registered as a professional engineer (P.Eng.), or be eligible to register, with Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC). CRC Chairs are restricted to designated equity groups. See individual advertisements linked below for more information. 

View the full advertisement and application instructions for each type of position here: 

For queries, contact Sharda Muni (sharda.muni@ubc.ca)