Heersink School of Medicine-Open Rank-Substance Use Disorders and Addictions

Department of Neurobiology

University of Alabama at Birmingham

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine invites applications for an open-rank faculty position in the Department of Neurobiology. We are seeking candidates with experience in the area of substance use disorders and addictions, motivated behavior, or the consequences of drug experience on brain function. The Department of Neurobiology (link) is an established and well-funded department with over a quarter century of fundamental neuroscience discoveries. Faculty are housed in custom-designed laboratories and offices in the Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building and nearby Civitan International Research Center. The department has strengths in the molecular mechanisms of neuronal function, synaptic communication and plasticity, and animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders, with technical approaches spanning molecular, genetic, cellular, systems, and behavioral levels of analysis. The Department of Neurobiology provides competitive start-up packages, modern laboratory space, excellent core facilities, a collaborative research environment, and world-class training programs. UAB is strongly committed to neuroscience research, and the department is expanding rapidly under new leadership.

Driven by an intensely collaborative and entrepreneurial character, UAB is one of the leading economic engines in Alabama, with a nearly $4 billion budget and a statewide economic impact exceeding $12.1 billion annually. UAB is Alabama’s largest employer with nearly 28,000 employees, and ranks in the top 10 among public universities for NIH funding, with total research expenditures exceeding $715 million in 2022. With nearly 1,700 faculty, 1,200 medical and graduate students, and 12,000 undergraduate students, UAB pursues the frontiers of education, research, and health care and strives to be one of the most dynamic and productive universities of the 21st century. Birmingham is a cosmopolitan city at the heart of a metropolitan area with a population of 1.1 million people. It is a rich cultural center and progressive community with low cost of living, moderate weather, and ample outdoor activities.

Successful applicants will join one of the strongest neuroscience environments in the country. The UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center (CNC) has more than 450 neuroscience research faculty, clinicians, staff, students & trainees representing 32 UAB departments across 9 UAB schools. The CNC serves as a focal point for basic and applied neuroscience research at UAB. In addition, UAB is home to several other neuroscience-related centers, including the Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention (CAPPI), Civitan International Research Center (CIRC), Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics (CNET), an NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, and Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute. UAB is one of 42 institutions with an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award, which supports translational research and promotes junior investigators.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. and/or M.D in a related field and a strong record of research accomplishments. Faculty members are expected to establish or continue active independent research programs and to participate in education of professional, graduate, and undergraduate students. To ensure priority consideration, applications should be submitted by September 15, 2025, but applications will be considered until positions are filled. Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, list of references, and brief summary of current and proposed research activities as a single PDF file.

Contact: Search Committee Co-Chairs Dr. Jeremy Day (jjday@uab.edu) or Dr. Jamie Peters, (doctorj@uab.edu).