Director, Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences

The University of California, Los Angeles invites applications for the Director of the Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio). Housed in the Division of Life Sciences at UCLA, QCBio serves as a hub that coordinates activities in Computational and Quantitative Biology across campus, including the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, and within the Division itself. With over 60 affiliated faculty, QCBio has spurred tremendous growth in research, teaching and outreach in quantitative biology since its establishment in 2014. We are seeking a visionary leader and world-class scientist to expand QCBio’s excellence in cutting-edge research and inclusive education.

QCBio nucleates a research community that spans a remarkable breadth and strength of scientific activities at UCLA. QCBio faculty study systems ranging in scale from ecosystems to macromolecules, applying techniques from mathematical modeling, statistics and data science, and developing cutting-edge new computational and experimental tools for quantifying and understanding biological phenomena. The Institute draws faculty from 12 different departments into a single community through its support of both internal and external seminar series, numerous working groups with shared research interests, and the innovative Collaboratory program that provides computational expertise to labs on campus. Over the past 10 years, QCBio has recruited 23 new faculty to UCLA in the areas of computational and quantitative biology, and has thus played a pivotal role in expanding this area of research on campus. The incoming Director will build on these strengths to lead QCBio into even greater success in Quantitative and Computational Biology research.

QCBio also organizes a community of educators who are committed to inspiring the next generation of quantitative biologists. Due to the efforts of QCBio, the Computational and Systems Biology (CaSB) major at UCLA has grown over ten-fold and now enrolls over 100 students every year. QCBio also helps to coordinate efforts across over six separate graduate programs in quantitative and computational biology, including Bioinformatics, Medical Informatics, Biomathematics, Genetics and Genomics, and the newly-established PhD program in Systems Biology, and also supports T32 and postdoctoral training programs. The meteoric growth of these various programs shows no sign of slowing, and the incoming Director of QCBio will have the opportunity to shape UCLA’s educational efforts as it grows to become one of the largest educators of quantitative biologists in the US.

A deep commitment to inclusive excellence permeates all activities within the Division of Life Sciences at UCLA, and QCBio is a leader in this area. The Institute supports a diverse group of scholars across the University, and is committed to promoting justice, equity and inclusion in our research and teaching efforts. QCBio is also engaged in outreach to our community in Los Angeles, including the student- and postdoc-led QCBio EDGE group that uses research in quantitative biology to inspire local high school students from underserved communities to pursue careers in STEM. Finally, QCBio supports the Bruins In Genomics (BIG) summer research program for undergraduates, which recruits a fantastic and diverse group of young scientists to campus every summer and supports their engagement in computational biology research here at UCLA. The future director will build upon these initiatives to further an inclusive climate within QCBIo that celebrates diversity and creates an environment in which students, faculty and staff can thrive regardless of their background.

This open-rank search aims to recruit an internationally-recognized quantitative life scientist with a vision to accelerate QCBio’s excellence in research, teaching, service and inclusivity. The Diversity basic qualifications for the position is a PhD in a Life Science Discipline or a Discipline Related to Computational Biology. The candidate should have an established research program in quantitative life sciences, including (but not limited to) mathematical modeling of biological systems, bioinformatics, genomics, systems biology, evolutionary biology, computational neuroscience, statistics (applied to the life sciences), biological data science, computational biopsychology, or a related field. A successful candidate will have an outstanding record of scholarly publications and research support, along with evidence of leadership experience. Upon hiring, the candidate will hold a primary appointment in one of the six departments associated with the Division of Life Sciences: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Integrative Biology and Physiology; Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics; Molecular; Cell and Developmental Biology; Psychology; or the Institute for Society and Genetics. The candidate will receive a competitive startup package along with significant resources to support the continued growth of QCBio’s educational and research missions.

Applications should be submitted via UC Recruit: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF10007. Applicants should submit their (1) CV, (2) a cover letter, (3) a list of potential references to be contacted at a later date, (4) a Statement of Vision that addresses their qualifications for their position, past successes in leadership roles, their vision for the future of QCBio, and how they would approach the position’s key opportunities and challenges. Candidates should also provide (5) a Diversity Statement that highlights their commitment to supporting an inclusive culture in academia, and (6) a Research Statement explaining their research program and its future.

The posted UC salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and/or step at appointment. See Table 1, https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2024-25/oct-2024-scales/t1.pdf. The salary range for this position is $78, 200-$112,900. "Off-scale salaries" and other components of pay, i.e., a salary that is higher than the published system-wide salary at the designated rank and step, are offered when necessary to meet competitive conditions.

UCLA is the #1 ranked public university in the USA, and California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The Biosciences at UCLA has more than 300 faculty members, includes many top ten ranked departments, and is consistently in the top ten in NIH funding. As a campus with a diverse student body, we encourage applications from women, minorities, and individuals with a history of mentoring under-represented groups in the sciences.

The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists' current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University's Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled "Authorization to Release Information" into Recruit as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks.