The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) invites applications for a faculty position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor.
Academic rank, faculty track, tenure status, departmental appointment, and compensation will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s qualifications and experience and determined in accordance with
OHSU policy.
VGTI seeks an accomplished, collaborative scientist whose research is centered on human translational infectious disease or immunology.
The successful candidate will lead an innovative, externally funded research program that uses human populations, clinical cohorts, biospecimens, or patient-linked data to define mechanisms of infection and immunity and accelerate the development or evaluation of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, biomarkers, or curative strategies.
The
VGTI is particularly interested in investigators who can create durable connections among human disease, mechanistic discovery, experimental models, and clinical translation.
Relevant areas include, but are not limited to: • Human immune responses to acute, chronic, latent, emerging, or re-emerging infections • Vaccine immunology, immune correlates of protection, antigen discovery, and immune monitoring • Pathogen persistence, latency, reservoirs, immune evasion, and mechanisms of treatment response or failure • Immunity across the lifespan, including pediatric immunity, immune aging, and infection in immunocompromised population • Translational systems immunology;
single-cell, spatial, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, or computational approaches • Biomarker, diagnostic, therapeutic, or vaccine development using human cohorts and biospecimens • Clinical and translational research addressing HIV, herpesviruses, tuberculosis, malaria, emerging viruses, or other infectious diseases that complement and extend
VGTI strengths
VGTI brings together multidisciplinary investigators to address serious infectious disease threats and to move discoveries from molecular and cellular studies through animal models and ultimately into clinical testing.
Current strengths include HIV/AIDS, herpesvirus biology, tuberculosis, malaria, emerging viruses with pandemic potential, viral pathogenesis, vaccine development, host–pathogen interactions, and the immunology of aging.
Located on OHSU’s West Campus adjacent to ONPRC,
VGTI provides access to biosafety level 3 laboratories and advanced technologies that include spatial profiling, single-cell transcriptomics, flow cytometry, genomics, virology, advanced imaging, quantitative PCR, and proteomics.
OHSU’s clinical programs and statewide partnerships create significant opportunities to expand human-focused investigation.
The Division of Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine links clinical care and translational research across HIV, mycobacterial disease, infections in immunocompromised hosts, viral immunology, antimicrobial resistance, fungal and parasitic infections, and related fields, while the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) supports recruitment, biospecimen access, study coordination, and community engagement.
OHSU is Oregon’s only public academic health center and integrates research, education, clinical care, and statewide service.
Its mission explicitly emphasizes interdisciplinary inquiry and translation of basic, clinical, and applied discoveries into health applications.
The successful candidate will: • Establish, maintain, and grow an independent, nationally or internationally recognized research program in human translational infectious disease or immunology • Sustain a strong portfolio of peer-reviewed extramural funding and pursue collaborative, multi-investigator, programmatic, or center-level opportunities when appropriate • Develop research that connects human cohorts, clinical specimens, or patient-derived data with mechanistic studies and, where relevant, small-animal or nonhuman-primate models • Build productive collaborations across VGTI, ONPRC,
OHSU clinical and basic-science units, and external academic, community, government, nonprofit, and industry partners • Publish influential scholarship and communicate findings to scientific, clinical, and public audiences • Recruit, supervise, mentor, and develop a high-performing research team, including staff scientists, research staff, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career investigators • Contribute to graduate, professional, or medical education and to the intellectual life of
VGTI through seminars, working groups, team science, and service • Foster a rigorous, ethical, collegial, and inclusive research and training environment • Participate in Institute and University service appropriate to rank and experience Qualifications Required • Ph.D., M.D., M.D./Ph.D., D.V.M., or equivalent terminal degree in a relevant discipline • Academic accomplishments appropriate for appointment at the Associate Professor or Professor level • Established record of high-impact scholarship in infectious disease, immunology, or a closely related field • Sustained record of peer-reviewed extramural research support as a principal investigator or equivalent scientific lead • Demonstrated independence in developing and directing a productive research program • Substantive experience with human translational research involving cohorts, clinical samples, patient-linked data, clinical studies, or closely related approaches • Record of effective collaboration across scientific or clinical disciplines • Demonstrated excellence in mentoring trainees and research staff • Commitment to research rigor, responsible conduct, collegiality, and an environment in which people with varied backgrounds and perspectives can thrive Qualifications Preferred • Experience leading multi-investigator grants, research networks, clinical-translational programs, or cross-institutional collaborations • Research that complements
VGTI strengths while adding new human-focused capabilities, cohorts, technologies, or disease areas • Experience translating mechanistic findings into vaccines, diagnostics, biomarkers, therapeutics, clinical studies, or public-health applications • Established collaborations with clinical investigators, health systems, communities, industry, government agencies, or international research partners • For physician-scientists, relevant specialty training and eligibility for Oregon licensure if clinical effort will be included The appointment will include competitive start-up support, research and office space, access to
OHSU and
VGTI shared resources, and opportunities for joint or secondary appointments aligned with the successful candidate’s expertise.
The final distribution of research, teaching, service, and any clinical effort will be negotiated at appointment.
OHSU offers health coverage, retirement options, paid time off, professional-development resources, and other employee benefits.
Applicants should submit: • A cover letter describing interest in
VGTI and the fit of the applicant’s research with this opportunity • A curriculum vitae, including complete publication and funding history • A research statement of up to three pages describing major accomplishments, current program, and future plans at
OHSU • A one-page statement describing mentoring philosophy and specific approaches to building an effective, collaborative, and inclusive research environment • Names and contact information for at least three professional references;
references will be contacted only with the candidate’s permission Applications must be submitted through Search for Requisition ID 2026-42380 for job posting.
Questions may be directed to Afam Okoye,
VGTI Professor and Chair of the Search Committee at , or Heidi White,
VGTI Administrative Directorat .
OHSU is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer.
Applicants who require an accommodation during the hiring process may contact OHSU’s Office of Civil Rights Investigations and Compliance at or .