What are the responsibilities and job description for the Section Chief, Comparative Medicine - Academic Faculty position at Wake Forest Baptist Health?
Section Head, Comparative Medicine - Department of Pathology,
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
The Department of Pathology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) is seeking a dynamic, innovative and energetic leader to become the Head of the Section of Comparative Medicine. Candidates must have a record of excellence in research and experience with nonhuman primate models.
A successful Section Head of Comparative Medicine will develop strategies to continue advancing and growing Comparative Medicine’s research programs, further leverage collaborations with research faculty and leaders across WFUSM Departments and Centers, promote an atmosphere where team-science is valued and augmented by skills and resources across a large and diverse research enterprise, and support career development of faculty and fellows in the section. The next Head must demonstrate the ability to effectively steward department and section resources, exhibit an entrepreneurial spirit, and partner with the Department Chair to transform the section through a time of great change in academics.
The Section Head will lead a growing multidisciplinary team of thirteen PhD, DVM, and DVM/DACVP scientists who are uniquely skilled in translational research using nonhuman primates. Areas of research strength include aging, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, behavioral neurobiology, radiation effects, cancer, and pediatric/developmental programming. Comparative Medicine faculty serve as the center for nonhuman primate model expertise and provide research services to other investigators. The Section is also home to two NIH-funded national resource nonhuman primate (NHP) colonies (the Vervet Research Colony consisting of over 300 genotyped and pedigreed vervet monkeys, and the NIAID Radiation Late Effects Cohort, consisting of over 150 rhesus monkeys previously exposed to radiation) with a total population of approximately 500 NHPs. Additional onsite resources available to faculty include 1) imaging capabilities for large animals (CT/DEXA) with expansion underway to include PET/CT, and 2) MRIa linear accelerator onsite in 2025 currently available at a separate campus); 3) a ~2600 sq ft ABSL-3 facility; 4) Comparative Medicine Veterinary Pathology Core; and 5) the Preclinical Translational Research Services Core. These primate resources provide abundant research opportunities and serve as magnets for collaborative work.
Comparative Medicine faculty and resources are mainly located on the 200-acre Thomas B Clarkson Campus where School of Medicine researchers have conducted research for nearly 60 years using a variety of animal models, with the majority of research in nonhuman primates. The Campus also has a large community outreach program that has brought more than 4,000 visitors (mostly students) to our facility to learn more about biomedical research careers and the importance of research in improving human health. The Department also administers several shared research facilities, which are available to investigators throughout the institution. These facilities include Cellular Imaging, Digital Pathology Core, and Comparative Pathology Laboratory.
Leading the way as an Academic Learning Health System, Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) provides internationally recognized leadership in the translation of basic to clinical science. Institutional centers involved in collaborative research efforts include the Sticht Center for Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention, the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), the Cardiovascular Sciences Center, the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Wake Forest University Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Center for Precision Medicine, and the Translational Imaging Program. Two NIH-funded training grants within the Section support research training for veterinary postdoctoral fellows (T32) and student summer fellows (T35). A few of the many CTSI programs designed to support new research faculty include a Translational Research Academy, K Award Writer Series, Research Studios, and the opportunity to apply for a 2-year KL2 Career Development Award. The broader WFUSM community consists of over 1000 faculty spanning over 40 academic departments and over 25 academic Centers or Institutes.
Skills and Competencies Required
- Terminal degree (i.e., DVM, PhD, DO, PharmD, MD)
- Experience in nonhuman primate models
- Academic stature as an established principal investigator
- Current rank of Associate Professor or higher
- Record of extramural grant funding and scholarly productivity
- An outstanding track record of academic accomplishment in administrative, scholarly, and educational endeavors
- Ability to build purposeful research programs to recruit and develop research faculty
- Established excellence in mentoring and experience teaching and mentoring graduate students/postdoctoral fellows
- Transparent and a collaborative management style
- Business skills including budgeting and resource management
- Track record of careful stewardship of institutional resources, decisiveness and ability to make difficult decisions
- Demonstrated commitment to fostering an academic and clinical culture that advances health equity and promotes a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment for all.
- The ability to create and articulate an inspiring vision for the section
- An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas that will stretch the organization and push the boundaries within the industry
- The ability to attract and recruit top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance; and be widely viewed as a strong developer of others
