This is a unique opportunity to lead a vibrant and collaborative basic science department that combines scientific discovery with translational research in an exceptional educational and training environment.

The Opportunity

The Department of Cellular & Integrative Physiology routinely ranks in the top 25 in Blue Ridge rankings and is one of the highest ranked Physiology Departments in Texas. It has considerable strength in multiple areas of neuroscience, aging, and cardiovascular research with a focus on glial biology, ion channels and integration from the molecule to the malady. Faculty also have considerable expertise with cutting-edge methodologies and have close ties with their clinical colleagues in the Long School of Medicine to facilitate translational investigations. The department is home to a long-standing T32 training grant in Cardiovascular Science.

UTHSCA is a comprehensive academic health university and research center in South Texas. One of six health institutions in The University of Texas System, UTHSA is the primary source of health professions, education and life sciences research in the region and is a major center for patient care.

Reporting to the Dean, the Chair will provide vision, innovation, and leadership to the Department. The Chair will work closely with the Department and School of Medicine, leadership, faculty, and staff and is responsible for the Department's overall research, academic and administrative activities.

The successful candidate will possess exceptional communication skills, strong financial acumen, a demonstrable record of mentorship and career development in science among trainees, staff and faculty and a sincere commitment to promoting a culture of collaboration, innovation and inclusion across the Health Science campus. Qualified candidates must hold a terminal degree in biomedical science and/or an MD degree and will be an outstanding leader and scientist, widely recognized in the field with a strong track record of funded, impactful research. He/she must be a respected leader who is operationally savvy, highly knowledgeable of cutting-edge science, and a visionary leader in the new age of biochemical and molecular science.

The Chair will maintain and enhance the success that the department has experienced over the past decade while driving innovation in basic and translational science more broadly. The Chair must be a compelling leader whose passion for the educational and research missions energize the faculty, learners, and staff, focusing their efforts on a strategic vision of excellence in all missions. The Chair must also be a competent and prudent steward of the Department, guiding it through what will almost certainly be uncharted territories of change in the scientific, healthcare, and social environment. Importantly, the Chair must be viewed by all stakeholders as a strong advocate for balancing the research and educational missions. The Chair will promote a culture of institutional stewardship and transparency, including commitment to improved business operations, efficient and effective use of space, and a willingness to realign resources with evolving strategies. The Chair must champion healthcare excellence and equal access.

The Organization

University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio is composed of four campuses in San Antonio and South Texas. It has more than 4M sf of facilities for education, research, treatment, and administration. UTHSA employs approximately 6,000 full-time faculty and staff, with a current budget of approximately $1.3 B. The central campus, named the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Campus, is located on more than 100 acres in the heart of San Antonio’s South Texas Medical Center.

One-half mile away is the University’s 92-acre North Campus, also known as the Greehey Academic and Research Campus, consisting of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, the Mays Cancer Center, the Barshop Institute on Longevity and Aging Research and the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, the new School of Public Health in the Research Administration Building, the South Texas Research Facility (STRF), a modern, 188,000 sf laboratory facility. and the McDermott Research Building. Across the street is the Medical Arts and Research Center (MARC), a 300,000-sf state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility for medical specialties, along with its 4 acute surgery center rooms.  The STRF also houses the Office of Technology Commercialization and the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, located in the STRF, is the academic home for the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), which has been funded continuously since 2008 by NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

The 198,000 sf Center for Oral Health Care and Research, also located on the North Campus, was opened in 2015 and houses the clinical operations of UTHSA's 7th ranked School of Dentistry by NIH funding. The Academic Learning and Teaching Center (ALTC), which opened in 2016 on the Long Campus (Central Campus), is a 130,000 square-foot learning facility, a nexus for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation for interdisciplinary health education.

The Ideal Candidate

Education/Certification

• Qualified candidates must possess a Ph.D. and/or M.D. or equivalent degree from an accredited institution.
• Academic credentials that merit appointment at the rank of full professor in the medical school.

Knowledge and Work Experience

• A personal record of distinguished scholarly accomplishments.
• A strong personal track record of significant continuous funding, with an NIH-funded research program that preferably includes both individual grant funding as well as multi-investigator grant funding.
• National/international/regional reputation as a respected and accomplished researcher and educator; track record of serving on national committees or within respected pharmaceutical organizations, major journal editorial responsibility, a senior officer position in one’s major national organizations, invitations to present at national and/or international symposia, participation on NIH study sections, chair, or organizer of regional, national, or international meetings.
• Significant leadership experience gained within an academic medical center or appropriate research institute including experience in the recruitment, retention, mentoring and management of faculty.
• A proven commitment to doctoral and postdoctoral education as demonstrated by the mentoring of such students and fellows carrying out research in one’s laboratory as well as serving on the relevant committees for such trainees.
• Demonstrated commitment and excellence in teaching medical students and if appropriate, residents and fellows.
• Demonstrated commitment and training in fostering equal access in science and/or medicine.