Assistant Research Professor of Surgery - Plastic Surgery

Position Summary

The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine is seeking a full-time Assistant Research Professor to serve as an independent, non-tenure-track faculty member supporting the Division's translational and preclinical research mission. The role requires advanced technical expertise, intellectual independence, and leadership across externally funded research programs in peripheral nerve regeneration, trauma biology, and regenerative medicine.

Key Responsibilities

1. Independent Research Leadership

• Lead and oversee complex, multi-aim preclinical research projects in peripheral nerve regeneration, corneal neurotization, and trauma-induced endothelial dysfunction.
• Independently design experimental strategies, define endpoints, and ensure scientific rigor across ongoing externally funded studies.
• Develop and validate novel disease and injury models relevant to translational plastic surgery research.

2. Specialized Technical Expertise

• Perform and supervise high-precision microsurgical procedures in rodent models, including nerve injury, repair, coaptation, and corneal denervation/neurotization.
• Develop and optimize localized drug-delivery platforms.
• Execute and interpret advanced imaging and tissue-analytics techniques, including: multiplex immunofluorescence, spatial proteomics platforms, confocal and whole-mount nerve imaging, high-dimensional image analysis and morphometric quantification.

3. Grant Development and Program Sustainability

• Serve as key scientific contributor or Co-Principal Investigator on extramural grant applications (e.g, DoD, NIH, PSF, CTSI).
• Generate preliminary data, experimental frameworks, and analytic plans for competitive grant submissions.
• Maintain continuity and momentum of funded research programs through technical oversight and long-term project planning.

4. Scholarly Productivity

• Lead manuscript development as first or senior author for peer-reviewed publications.
• Present research findings at national and international scientific meetings (e.g., PSRC, ASPN, AAPS, ARVO).
• Contribute to the academic visibility and national reputation of the Division's research program.

5. Mentorship and Laboratory Leadership

• Mentor undergraduate, graduate, and medical trainees in experimental design, microsurgical technique, data interpretation, and academic writing.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research collaborations.
• Ensure data integrity, reproducibility, and regulatory compliance across laboratory activities.

6. Infrastructure Development

• Maintain and expand laboratory surgical, imaging, and analytic infrastructure.
• Establish standardized workflows for complex, multi-project research environments.
• Support long-term scalability of the Division's translational research platform.