Faculty Positions
Position Title / Rank: Assistant or Associate Professor - Canada Research Chair (NSERC) Tier 2 in Systems Approaches to Disease
College: Ontario Veterinary College
Department: Pathobiology
Date Posted: June 7, 2023
Deadline: September 7, 2023 or until a suitable candidate is found
Please reference AD #23-33
Position Description:
The Department of Pathobiology at the University of Guelph invites applications and nominations for a Canada Research Chair Tier II (NSERC) in Systems Approaches to Disease. The appointment will be tenure-track at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor. Tier 2 Chairs are awarded for a five-year term and can be renewed once. Tier 2 CRCs are for emerging researchers acknowledged by their peers as world-class. A CRC Tier II Chair attracts funding of $600,000 over five years, with most of this funding allocated to support the Chair and the Chair’s program of research. For more details, visit the CRC program. This position will form part of a One Health cluster of researchers at the University of Guelph) working in an interdisciplinary manner at the interface of animal, human, and environmental health.
Exceptional emerging scholars, with the potential to become world leaders in a field related to Systems Approaches to Disease, are invited to apply. The successful candidate will have a PhD and post-doctoral training in a discipline related to animal health and disease research. Their work may involve any discipline related to Pathobiology, including mammalian pathology, comparative pathology, veterinary infectious diseases, microbiology, or immunology. Expertise and experience in applications of big data (including but not limited to transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, epigenomics and metabolomics) to delineate disease processes in animals is expected. Holding a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or another health professional degree will be an asset.
The Chair is expected to establish a strong independent, collaborative and multi-disciplinary research program in the area of Systems Approaches to Disease. The program should aim to find solutions, using big data analytic approaches, for control of disease and improving health and welfare in agricultural and/or companion animals. The Chair is expected to work collaboratively with Pathobiology and OVC faculty to promote and implement high throughput technologies and bioinformatics.
While this is a research-intensive appointment, the successful candidate is expected to contribute to the undergraduate and graduate education in the Department of Pathobiology related to their area of expertise, including using bioinformatics approaches to analyze big data sets, and be involved in the graduate program in Bioinformatics.
The Department of Pathobiology has recognized strengths in mammalian and comparative pathology, veterinary infectious diseases, microbiology and immunology. The Department, together with the Animal Health Laboratory, has a new state-of-the-art 13,000 square meter building housing well-equipped modern research and diagnostic laboratories. The College has a large veterinary teaching hospital (Health Sciences Centre), the Animal Cancer Centre, Bench to Bedside Institute for Translational Health Research and Innovation, and the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses. In addition, researchers have access to nearby research stations suitable for conducting studies in a variety of domestic animals and on-campus housing for laboratory animals.
Nominees for Tier 2 Chair positions should, at a minimum, be assistant or associate professors, or possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed to these levels. Eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair requires that applicants are emerging scholars. Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their first highest degree (including DVM), where career breaks exist, such as parental or extended sick leave, clinical training, or other exceptional circumstances, including research interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, may have their eligibility assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. Eligible leaves and research interruptions are generally credited at twice the amount of time taken. For more information about the Tier 2 justification process please contact Ailsa Kay,, Manager, Strategic Research Programs. Please consult the Canada Research Chairs website for full program information, including details on eligibility.
The University of Guelph is the third largest employer in Guelph, a city of approximately 130,000 people, located about an hour drive west of Toronto, Ontario. University of Guelph is a top-ranked comprehensive university in Canada with an enrolment of more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across over 40 academic units. The University is known for its commitment to student learning, innovative research, and collaboration with world-class partners. It is a unique place, with transformative research and teaching and a distinctive campus culture. People who learn and work here are shaped and inspired by a shared purpose: To Improve Life. Reflecting that shared purpose in every experience connected to our university positions us to create positive change, here and around the world. Our university community shares a profound sense of social responsibility, a drive for international development, and an obligation to address global issues.
The University of Guelph recognizes that an inclusive campus and a culture of inclusion (https://uoguel.ph/ox2p9) is an institutional and social imperative. Acknowledging the University’s diverse population and ensuring that every member of an inclusive campus is a valued contributor is a foundational pillar of a successful post-secondary institution.
The CRC program is committed to excellence in research and research training and is promoting exemplary practices with respect to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The goals of research excellence can only be met when equity and diversity are integrated into the research initiative. The CRC program reflects the federal government’s commitment to equity and diversity in employment. It aims to ensure the appropriate representation of women and gender minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized persons.
Application Process
Salary and rank are negotiable and commensurate with experience and qualifications. Positions are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat. Assessment of applications will begin on September 7, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled. Interested applicants should submit the following materials as a single PDF file: (1) a cover letter; (2) a curriculum vitae; (3) a Quality of Nominee statement (max 1 page) and Description of Proposed Research Program (max 6 pages, not including 100 word Executive Summary) as per CRC guidelines (detailed instructions here) that demonstrates how the candidate meets the CRC criteria for Tier 2; (4) An Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion statement (one-page) that describes the applicant’s past experience with attracting and mentoring a diverse group of students, trainees and research personnel, and establishing an equitable and inclusive research environment (5) a one page summary of how your proposed research program differs from that of the labs you are or have trained in (6) names and contact information of three references to:
Dr. Brandon Lillie Associate Professor and Chair Department of Pathobiology University of Guelph Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1
Email: blillie@uoguelph.ca
The University of Guelph is committed to an Employment Equity Program that includes special measures to address the underrepresentation of individuals from four groups designated by the Employment Equity Act (women and gender minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and racialized groups) within its allocation of Canada Research Chairs. The university especially seeks applications from applicants from these four groups. The identification of outstanding candidates from the designated groups is central to the University’s commitment to excellence, as well as to its capacity to fulfil the objectives of the University’s Canada Research Chairs Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Action Plan.
Collection of self-identification data is a requirement of the CRC Program, and all applicants to CRC positions are required to complete the University’s self-identification form, the Applicant Tracking Questionnaire. The questionnaire includes an option “prefer not to answer.” Self-identification information is collected by the Office of Diversity and Human Rights (ODHR) in support of the University's employment equity program. All self-identification specifics of candidates will be kept confidential by the ODHR.
The University recognizes that applicants may have had obligations outside of work that have negatively impacted their record of achievements (e.g., parental, elder care, and/or medical). You are not required to disclose these obligations in the hiring process. If you choose to do so, the University will ensure that these obligations do not negatively impact the assessment of your qualifications for the position.
The Canada Research Chairs Program imposes no restrictions on nominees with regard to nationality or country of residence. Procedures to allow non-Canadian chairholders to work in Canada have been established by Employment and Social Development Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The University of Guelph resides on the ancestral lands of the Attawandaron people and the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and we offer our respect to our Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Métis neighbours as we strive to strengthen our relationships with them.
If you require a medical accommodation during the recruitment or selection process, please contact Occupational Health and Wellness at 519-824-4120 x52674.