Head of the Department of Biological Sciences

The Department of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University seeks an accomplished scientist to head the Department of Biological Sciences. The head will be invested with a newly-endowed chair for Biological Sciences and oversee a significant improvement in research space with the opening of the Richard King Mellon Hall of Science in 2027. The candidate will facilitate and increase the footprint of life sciences across the university, leveraging the highly collaborative environment at Carnegie Mellon and local expertise in computational biology and engineering, to support interdisciplinary research and conduct breakthrough discoveries in fundamental science.

The Department of Biological Sciences is one of four departments in the Mellon College of Sciences. It is home to 20 internationally-recognized tenure-track faculty, with a focus on molecular and cellular biology, neuroscience, microbiology, as well as evolutionary and developmental biology. The tenure-track faculty includes a dynamic group of assistant professors hired in the past 5 years who have already been successful in obtaining external funding. The department has an engaged and collegial community, including 60-70 graduate students, 6 staff members, with 10 postdoctoral fellows and associated research scientists. The department also includes 16 teaching-track faculty located in Pittsburgh and in our Qatar campus. Both faculty and staff are dedicated to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education including a PhD program and master's programs in Computational Biology, Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics, and Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering.

CMU and the department have a long and notable history of innovation and technology development. Faculty from the Department of Biological Sciences have developed new methods for biological imaging, microscopy, molecular visualization, and cell tracking. Currently, faculty in the department hold approximately $7 million in grants annually, of which 70% are supported by the NIH. The scientific environment in Pittsburgh is vibrant and collaborative, with many faculty holding secondary appointments both at CMU and the University of Pittsburgh, where they share graduate students and both internal and external grants.

Distinguished candidates with demonstrated excellence in biological research, administration, and teaching are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants must possess a doctoral degree with training in a field of Biological Sciences complementary to our department research areas, and qualifications warranting an appointment as Full Professor, including a strong record of research, leadership, and mentorship.

Interested candidates are invited to apply with a cover letter, CV, and through Interfolio.

Contact: Ferra Executive Search has been retained to manage the search. If you have any inquiries or nominations, please send an email to:

Kevin Ferra, Founding Partner

Ferra Executive Search

kevin@ferrasearch.com

Please use 'Department of Biological Sciences' as the subject line when you contact Kevin.

Review of applications will be ongoing, starting December 1 st