CHIEF & Associate or Full Professor

University of Florida•Gainesville, FL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Chief, Safety Science Division will provide intellectual and operational leadership of the newly established Safety Science Division within the University of Florida (UF) College of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology. Working in close partnership with the Associate Chief for Education, the Chief will co-develop the Division's strategic plan from inception and lead the administrative build-out of its research program through start-up and into operational maturity. The Division is being created to address preventable harm in perioperative care through interdisciplinary research excellence, innovative educational programs, clinical translation within UF Health, and national collaboration. The Division's research program is distinguished by its emphasis on complex systems modeling and analysis as the integrating scientific frame for safety science, a deliberate confluence of nonlinear systems dynamics, complexity science, human factors, and artificial intelligence that moves beyond conventional risk-stratification approaches toward a richer understanding of how preventable harm emerges, propagates, and can be averted in real perioperative systems. Under the Chief's leadership, the Division will pursue four interconnected flagship research themes: (1) Perioperative Human Factors and Complex Systems; (2) AI and Agentic Safety, including predictive analytics situated within complex systems analysis; (3) Diagnostic and Therapeutic Safety in Acute Care; and (4) Health Systems-Scale Analyses and Dissemination. This position is a 1.0 FTE academic faculty appointment in the Department of Anesthesiology. Given the demands of starting up a new Division, the incumbent's effort is initially allocated as approximately 0.7 FTE to the administrative and operational work of launching the Division, 0.15 FTE to the incumbent's own investigator-led research, and 0.15 FTE to education. The administrative and operational allocation encompasses two distinct leadership functions: one covering the Division's research operations and infrastructure, and one covering leadership of the Division's collective research program and faculty. The incumbent's own investigator-led research and educational contributions are distinct from these administrative functions. This distribution is deliberately weighted toward administration during the start-up phase and is expected to evolve over time with the needs of the Division, including, as the Division matures and its operations stabilize, a re-weighting toward the incumbent's own research and other scholarly activity. The specific allocation in any given period will be set in coordination with the Division Chief and the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and documented in the incumbent's annual letter of appointment or assignment. The mission of the UF College of Medicine and UF Health is to improve health care through excellence in education, clinical care, discovery, and service. The Safety Science Division advances that mission by pioneering scientific approaches to eliminate preventable perioperative harm, training future safety leaders, and translating research into clinical practice at UF Health and nationally. The Chief must exhibit a professional demeanor, demonstrate strong leadership and interpersonal skills, maintain strict confidentiality where applicable, and exercise independent judgment in setting and executing strategic priorities.

Requirements

A PhD, MD/PhD, MD, or equivalent terminal doctoral degree in a discipline relevant to safety science and biomedical research, including biomedical informatics, computer science, information science, data science, biostatistics, industrial and systems engineering, complex systems science, human factors engineering, health services research, anesthesiology or another clinical specialty, or a closely related field.

Nice To Haves

National or international recognition in patient safety research.
A sustained record of extramural funding (particularly NIH or AHRQ).
Experience directing a research center, institute, or division.
Experience with AI applications in healthcare.
Expertise in complex systems modeling.
Leadership within national professional organizations.
A history of mentoring successful investigators.

Responsibilities

Provide intellectual and operational leadership of the newly established Safety Science Division.
Co-develop the Division's strategic plan from inception.
Lead the administrative build-out of its research program.
Pursue four interconnected flagship research themes: (1) Perioperative Human Factors and Complex Systems; (2) AI and Agentic Safety, including predictive analytics situated within complex systems analysis; (3) Diagnostic and Therapeutic Safety in Acute Care; and (4) Health Systems-Scale Analyses and Dissemination.
Manage research operations and infrastructure.
Lead the Division's collective research program and faculty.
Conduct investigator-led research.
Contribute to education.
Exhibit a professional demeanor.
Demonstrate strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
Maintain strict confidentiality where applicable.
Exercise independent judgment in setting and executing strategic priorities.