Research Assistant Professor

UNC-Chapel Hill • Chapel Hill, NC

1d

About The Position

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the UNC School of Medicine is recruiting a Research Assistant Professor to provide scientific leadership and participate in research and training activities in the laboratory of Drs. Craig E. Cameron and Jamie J. Arnold. The laboratory uses molecular, cellular, and biochemical approaches to understand positive-strand RNA virus replication, assembly, and spread, with the long-term goal of identifying strategies to prevent and treat viral infections.

The successful candidate will independently develop, lead, and conduct research on enteroviruses and alphaviruses, emphasizing virus-host interactions involved in viral RNA synthesis, host lipid metabolism, replication-organelle formation, autophagy-associated membrane trafficking, and non-lytic spread. The position integrates molecular virology with reporter-based assays, quantitative live-cell and single-cell imaging, lipidomics, and ultrastructural analysis.

The individual will remain actively engaged in laboratory research while guiding study design, troubleshooting, project milestones, and trainee development. Additional responsibilities include supporting rigorous data management, shared laboratory practices, and research training and compliance activities.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to formulate original research questions and independently design, conduct, and interpret mechanistic studies in positive-strand RNA virology.
• Research experience with enteroviruses and alphaviruses, supported by a strong record of peer-reviewed publications in molecular virology or virus-host cell biology.
• Proficiency in molecular and cellular research methods, mammalian cell culture, reporter-based assays, fluorescence microscopy, and quantitative analysis of experimental data.
• Ability to develop reproducible workflows, evaluate appropriate controls, and synthesize findings across complementary experimental approaches.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring or training students and research personnel, coordinating research projects, and collaborating effectively with investigators from different disciplines.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including substantive contributions to scientific manuscripts and presentations.

Nice To Haves

• Expertise in enterovirus-induced membrane remodeling, lipid and phosphoinositide metabolism, replication-organelle biology, autophagy-associated trafficking, or non-lytic spread, together with experience studying alphavirus RNA replication and replication-protein precursor function.
• Experience with poliovirus and chikungunya-virus research systems, including development or application of RNA replicons, bicistronic-expression constructs, and dual-reporter assays.
• Experience with quantitative live-cell imaging, single-cell tracking, and analysis of replication or spread phenotypes.
• Experience integrating lipidomics with cell-based functional studies, fluorescence microscopy, and interpretation of electron-microscopy datasets.
• Familiarity with reproducible imaging and lipidomics analysis workflows and collaborative work involving microfluidic, structural, or biochemical approaches.
• Evidence of intellectual ownership of research projects and sustained trainee mentorship.
• Experience contributing to research proposals or competitive fellowship applications, coordinating collaborations and research-core activities, and developing standard operating procedures or reusable training and analytical resources.

Responsibilities

• Design, execute, and interpret experiments.
• Develop research directions and analytical workflows.
• Coordinate complementary projects and internal and external collaborations.
• Lead manuscript preparation and contribute to grant proposals.
• Mentor and provide day-to-day scientific supervision for trainees and research staff.
• Guide study design, troubleshooting, project milestones, and trainee development while remaining actively engaged in laboratory research.
• Support rigorous data management, shared laboratory practices, and research training and compliance activities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed