Heersink School of Medicine-Open Rank (Director)-Neuroscience

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Portal•Birmingham, AL

About The Position

The University of Alabama at Birmingham ( UAB ) Heersink School of Medicine ( HSOM ) is recruiting mid-career, NIH -funded Program Leaders for major strategic initiatives in the Neurosciences . Program Leaders will be recruited into our newest and largest research building and provided additional funds to help hire 3-4 neuroscientists in their Programmatic Research Area. The goal is to build on a strong portfolio across basic and translational research. Future recruitment of additional hires would be for tenured, tenure‐track, and non‐tenure‐earning faculty at all ranks and includes academic appointment in one or more of 27 academic departments across the HSOM , four of which rank in the top 10 nationally in NIH funding. Priority will be given to applicants with dynamic research programs focused on brain health and disease across the lifespan. Program Leaders are anticipated in the following focus areas: (1) Human IPSC /Organoid Models, (2) Neurodevelopment (including Autism and Intellectual Disorders), (3) Epilepsy, (4) Substance Use Disorders (Addiction & Motivation), (5) Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation, (6) Circadian Rhythms and Sleep, (7) Traumatic Brain Injury, and (8) Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Driven by an intensely collaborative and entrepreneurial character, UAB is one of the leading economic engines of the State, generating more than $12 billion in annual economic impact. UAB is Alabama’s largest employer with more than 35,000 faculty and staff; it supports more than 53,000 jobs at the University. Nationally, UAB ranks 28th in federal funding and 12th in NIH funding (top 5%), with annual research expenditures exceeding $850 million. For 12 consecutive years, U .S. News and World Report has ranked UAB Hospital the Best Hospital in Alabama, with five adult specialties ranked in the top 50 for 2025-2026. The Heersink School of Medicine has a statewide reach, extending from Birmingham to three regional campuses, hosting more than 1,900 full-time faculty, 1,150 residents and fellows, and more than 800 students. UAB is making a major investment in the future of biomedical discovery with a new, flagship research facility purpose-built to recruit and empower up to 80 principal investigators. This state-of-the-art building delivers highly flexible wet and dry laboratory space, integrated vivarium infrastructure, and intentionally designed adjacencies that catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration across biomedical science, neuroscience, and psychology. Positioned at the center of campus and engineered for scale, the facility offers investigators an exceptional environment to build ambitious, well-funded research programs with global impact. Successful applicants will join one of the strongest neuroscience environments in the country as Programmatic Leaders. The UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center ( CNC ) has more than 450 neuroscience research faculty, clinicians, staff, students & trainees representing 32 UAB departments across 9 UAB schools and spanning a diverse range of neuroscience research areas. The CNC serves as a focal point for basic and applied neuroscience research at UAB . Several centers and institutes at UAB focus on the specific areas of interest, including the Civitan International Research Center ( CIRC , focused on neurodevelopmental disorders research), Killion Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics ( KCNET , an NIH -funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center), Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute (cognitive aging focus), Multiple Sclerosis Center, Depression and Suicide Center, Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention ( CAPPI ), Civitan International Neuroimaging Laboratory, Advanced Imaging Facility, and Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute. UAB is one of 42 institutions with an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award, which supports translational research and creates a supportive environment that promotes junior investigators.