Assistant Professor of Basic Medical Sciences - One Health

We welcome investigators who leverage comparative, translational, and cross-species approaches to understand how interactions among tumors, neural circuits, immune cells, stem cell niches, and tissue microenvironments influence disease initiation, progression, metastasis, and therapeutic response.

Leveraging Purdue's strengths in comparative medicine and naturally occurring disease models, successful candidates will have unique opportunities to pursue translational discovery across species and advance One Health solutions relevant to both animal and human health. Candidates may utilize naturally occurring disease in veterinary patients, experimental model systems, organoids, or emerging computational and AI-enabled approaches to address questions relevant to both animal and human health.

Areas of Research Interest

We welcome candidates pursuing innovative research in:

• Cancer Neuroscience and Tumor-Neural Interactions: Neural regulation of cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, treatment response, and cancer-associated symptoms.
• Bone Metastasis and Skeletal Tumor Biology: Mechanisms governing tumor-bone interactions, metastatic colonization, dormancy, and skeletal remodeling.
• Neuro-Immune and Bone-Immune Crosstalk: Interactions among neural, immune, and skeletal systems that shape tumor progression and anti-tumor responses.
• Innovative Models and Technologies: Comparative animal models, organoids, spatial and single-cell biology, advanced imaging, computational approaches, AI/ML, and other emerging technologies for studying complex biological systems.

Purdue's One Health Initiative

This strategic recruitment will help advance Purdue’s One Health Initiative which seeks to tackle complex challenges with real-world impact at the intersection of human, animal, and plant health. This recruitment initiative builds on previous strategic faculty recruitment initiatives in: (1) Integrated Health; (2) AI-Driven Biomolecular Design, and (3) Advanced Chemistry. In addition, a parallel strategic faculty recruitment initiative in Healthy and Resilient Living Systems is ongoing. Through academic programs, research, facility infrastructure and industry partnerships, Purdue is making giant leaps in improving health outcomes for all living things and driving economic growth regionally and globally. This strategic faculty recruitment initiative focused on Intelligent Medicines is expected to build on prior recruitment initiatives and existing Purdue research and academic strengths, to transform research and impact human, animal and environmental health by bridging silos and fostering collaboration across disciplines.

The Intelligent Medicines theme seeks to create a framework that improves human, animal, and environmental health through the integration of technology, data, and systems thinking. This faculty recruitment initiative is disease agnostic and aims to establish new capabilities in AI-enabled therapeutic development, non-animal models of disease, advanced manufacturing, intelligent health systems, digital twins, robotics, human factors, supply chain resilience, and health technology innovation. By combining strengths in device innovation, computational intelligence, manufacturing systems, and healthcare operations, Purdue intends to create a highly visible flagship that strengthens industry engagement, expands workforce development opportunities, and attracts significant external funding.

Qualifications

• A Ph.D. in a biological science and a minimum of 2 years relevant post-doctoral experience.
• A record of research excellence and productivity commensurate with rank.
• Demonstrated potential or record of interdisciplinary collaboration and impactful scholarship.
• Commitment to teaching and student mentorship.

Faculty Responsibilities

• Establish a vigorous, externally funded research program.
• Teach courses in undergraduate or professional programs, mentor students, and train graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
• Engage in service to the Department, College, and University.
• Collaborate across disciplines to solve complex global one health challenges.

Integration within the Purdue One Health Community

Collectively, the strategic faculty recruitment initiatives represent a forward-thinking investment in Purdue’s research infrastructure and academic excellence. Faculty hired as part of these One Health strategic faculty recruitment initiatives will be supported as part of the overall One Health community. Together, these faculty members are expected to work across diverse disciplines, enhance Purdue’s external funding potential, and drive innovation at the intersection of health, environment, food, and economics. In addition to joining an academic unit, faculty hired under this initiative will have the opportunity to join a vibrant ecosystem of interdisciplinary centers and institutes, that span the hard tech corridor between Indianapolis and West Lafayette including:

• Center for Health Analytics and Therapeutic Intelligence
• Purdue Institute for Cancer Research (PICR)
• Purdue Center for Musculoskeletal Engineering (PCME)

The integrated, cross-disciplinary nature of One Health is essential for addressing today’s most urgent health challenges and ensuring Purdue’s continued leadership in research, education, and community impact.

Application Process

To apply, please submit a cover letter, complete curriculum vitae, 2–3 page description of current and future research, teaching statement, and contact information for at least three references. Review of applications will begin on November 2, 2026 and continue until positions are filled. A background check is required for employment in this position.

Purdue is an equal opportunity/equal access university.