Assistant Professor-Tenure System

MSU Internal Job Postings Details • East Lansing, MI

10d • Onsite

About The Position

The Michigan State University-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) has up to two tenure-track, twelve-month faculty positions available at the Assistant Professor level to complement and/or strengthen PRL mission areas. We are particularly interested in research that addresses fundamental questions in photosynthetic organisms in natural or engineered systems, including plants, algae, or photosynthetic bacteria interpreted broadly. Relevant research areas include, but are not limited to, mechanisms and regulation of photosynthetic light reactions, light capture and energy dissipation, electron transport reactions, primary metabolism and carbon allocation, development, organelle biogenesis/biology, biotic and abiotic stress, or integration of growth and environment. Individuals are expected to employ state-of-the art approaches, which may include but are not limited to advanced spectroscopy, imaging, cell biology, genetics and genomics, metabolomics, synthetic biology, phenotyping, predictive modeling, or molecular and structural biology such as cryo-EM. The PRL offers a highly collaborative environment for creative, fundamental research on photosynthetic organisms broadly. An important research core within the unit focuses on energy-related science for understanding and improving photosynthetic function through long-standing funding from the DOE Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program to support high risk-high reward basic science. This DOE support coexists with interdisciplinary research conducted by individual PRL lab efforts aimed broadly at studying photosynthetic organisms. More information on the breadth of PRL research is available at https://prl.natsci.msu.edu/research/. The PRL exists within the broader MSU research community, which offers a vibrant and collaborative environment with strengths in plant science, including the Colleges of Natural Science and Agriculture & Natural Resources, the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the Plant Resilience Institute. PRL faculty are integral members of the MSU tenure-stream faculty, and the candidate will be jointly appointed in the academic department with the best fit (e.g., Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Plant Biology, Chemistry).

Requirements

• PhD and postdoctoral research experience.
• Evidence of productivity and potential for independent research.
• Ability to clearly and collaboratively contribute to the DOE-BES priorities at the PRL.
• Ability to expand the breadth of the PRL research portfolio.
• Ability to clearly articulate how research will complement the PRL core research foci around light capture, energy conversion, and storage.
• Ability to establish independent research directions.

Nice To Haves

• Research that addresses fundamental questions in photosynthetic organisms in natural or engineered systems, including plants, algae, or photosynthetic bacteria interpreted broadly.
• Relevant research areas include, but are not limited to, mechanisms and regulation of photosynthetic light reactions, light capture and energy dissipation, electron transport reactions, primary metabolism and carbon allocation, development, organelle biogenesis/biology, biotic and abiotic stress, or integration of growth and environment.
• Employ state-of-the art approaches, which may include but are not limited to advanced spectroscopy, imaging, cell biology, genetics and genomics, metabolomics, synthetic biology, phenotyping, predictive modeling, or molecular and structural biology such as cryo-EM.

Responsibilities

• Complement and/or strengthen PRL mission areas.
• Conduct research addressing fundamental questions in photosynthetic organisms in natural or engineered systems.
• Employ state-of-the art approaches in research.
• Collaboratively contribute to the DOE-BES priorities at the PRL.
• Expand the breadth of the PRL research portfolio.
• Summarize contributions to core institutional values throughout application materials.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree