What are the responsibilities and job description for the Assistant Professors: Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery -VCU MCC position at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)?
Mission or Goal of Unit: The Department of Pharmacology and
Toxicology is home to a community of researchers, students and faculty who strive
to improve the treatment of medical disorders through a better understanding of
the pharmacology of agents and by developing safer and more effective drugs. As a member of Dr. Sebti’s
laboratory, the candidate is expected to work collaboratively as a lab team
member in the research areas described above. Candidates will also be expected
to submit grant applications for peer-reviewed extramural funding. As a member of the cancer center,
the candidate will undertake cancer research activities that are aligned
with the MCC vision and mission: to improve the lives of all Virginians by
delivering cutting-edge cancer care through patient-centered prevention and
treatment; high-impact, innovative research; community input and engagement;
and education and training of the next generation of researchers and healthcare
professionals. The vision of Massey is to be a premier community-focused cancer
center leading the nation in cancer health equity and ensuring optimal health
outcomes for all. Position Responsibilities: Research: Undertake cancer research activities that are aligned
with MCC vision and mission. Submit and obtain peer-reviewed grants preferably
R-type grants from NCI. Publish manuscripts in high impact journals. Work
closely with Dr. Sebti to harness the considerable intellectual talent and
scientific resources of VCU and focus them on solving the nation’s cancer
problem. Teaching and Mentoring: Support the department of pharmacology and toxicology with
teaching responsibilities including team-teaching medical and graduate
levels courses. Train and mentor graduate students seeking M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees. Service: Serve as member of departmental as well as university
wide service committees. Required Qualifications: Preferred Qualifications: About VCU: Virginia Commonwealth University is
a premier urban, public research university with a diverse student body and
both research-intensive and community-engaged designations from the Carnegie
Foundation. Located in historic Richmond, Virginia, VCU enrolls more than
31,000 students on two campuses.
Highly motivated non-tenure-track
Research Assistant Professors are sought to join the laboratory of Dr. Said Sebti
at the NCI designated Massey Cancer Center (MCC) and the Department of
Pharmacology and Toxicology. The research focus of the laboratory is to
understand at the basic science level how normal cells become malignant and to
translate such fundamental knowledge to the clinic. Specifically, the
candidates will be involved in exciting and highly integrated
inter-disciplinary research projects concerning understanding aberrant
oncogenic KRAS signal transduction pathways in cancer and designing novel
anti-cancer drugs based on this knowledge.
The following are examples of
projects that the candidates will be engaged in:
1. Understanding the mechanism of mutant
KRAS addiction and developing drugs to thwart mutant KRAS-driven
cancers
2. Identifying small molecules that
bind KRAS and investigating the mechanism by which they block oncogenesis.
3. Identifying kinases that are synthetically lethal with
mutant KRAS.
4. Identifying cell surface proteins specifically expressed
on human cancers that are addicted to mutant KRAS, and developing therapeutic
strategies based on these discoveries.
5. Developing dual FTase and GGTase
-1 inhibitors as novel anti-cancer drugs targeting human tumors that harbor
mutant KRAS.
Chief Purpose of this position:
As a faculty member in the department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the School
of Medicine, the candidate will also support the department with teaching
responsibilities including team-teaching medical and graduate levels
courses. The candidate will be responsible for training and being a mentor
to graduate students seeking M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. The candidate will
serve as members of departmental as well as university wide service committees.
The mission of the School of Medicine is to provide preeminent education to
physicians and scientists in order to improve the quality of health care for
humanity. Through innovative, scholarly activity and a diverse educational
context, the School seeks to create and apply new knowledge, and to
provide and continuously improve systems of medical and science education.
Furthermore, it is our mission to develop more effective health care
practices to address the needs of the diverse populations we serve, and to
provide distinguished leadership in the advancement of medicine and science.
The mission of the Massey Cancer Center is to improve the lives of all
Virginians by delivering cutting-edge cancer care through patient-centered
prevention and treatment; high-impact, innovative research; community input and
engagement; and education and training of the next generation of researchers
and healthcare professionals. The vision of Massey is to be a premier
community-focused cancer center leading the nation in cancer health equity and
ensuring optimal health outcomes for all.
Position Type: Teaching & Research Faculty
Full time equivalent: 100
Tenure: Ineligible
Rank: Assistant Professor
Months: 12
Department:
School of Medicine - Pharmacology and Toxicology
Salary: Commensurate
ORP Eligible: Yes
Contact Information:
Contact Name: Julian Owens
Contact Email: Julian.Owens@vcuhealth.org
