Rheumatologist - Visa Sponsorship (H-1B, J-1) + Leadership Opportunities + Protected Research Time

opportunities are part of the plan: this hire is the first step in a deliberate effort to grow Rheumatology, and the right individual can move into fellowship education, clinical program, research, and section and division leadership over time. Protected research time is built in, supported by the NIH-funded Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR), which provides salary support for protected research effort, pilot grant funding, and structured mentorship to junior faculty. Fellows completing training in 2027, including international medical graduates, are strongly encouraged to apply, as are early- and mid-career academic rheumatologists who want to teach fellows, publish with colleagues, and build a clinical or scholarly niche. UMMC has retained Academic Med to lead this national search.

Why This Position

• Visa sponsorship through every major pathway. H-1B sponsorship as a cap-exempt academic employer (no lottery, filed any time of year); J-1 waiver sponsorship through both the Mississippi Conrad 30 program and the Delta Regional Authority's Delta Doctors program, which gives UMMC more flexibility on timing and slots than institutions that rely on a single state allocation; and permanent residence sponsorship (EB-1B and EB-2). UMMC's Office of International Services works with faculty recruits from the offer stage forward.
• Leadership opportunities. An institutional commitment to grow Rheumatology, a meaningful voice in shaping what the program becomes, and, for candidates with the interest and experience, leadership roles in fellowship education, clinical quality and informatics, clinical research, and, over time, section and division leadership.
• Protected research time and the grant mechanisms to use it. Protected time for scholarship is available and will be scaled to your background and proposed program. The NIH-funded MCCTR is the established pathway through which junior faculty in the Department of Medicine secure protected research effort: a Clinical and Translational Research Scholars Program with salary support and pilot funding, a Mentoring Academy, and a biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design core. The Division Director, Gailen D. Marshall, MD, PhD, leads the MCCTR's Research Services Core.
• A research ecosystem built for rheumatology. An NIH-funded translational lupus program seeking a clinical rheumatology partner, active lupus and lupus nephritis trials, the Jackson Heart Study, national real-world data networks, and the state's only CAR-T program.
• An established practice from day one. Step into an active statewide referral base rather than spending years building one, with fellows embedded in faculty clinics and a rheumatology infusion service on site.
• Limited call. Inpatient consultation follows a consultative model shared among the faculty in rotation. Fellows take first call, and night and weekend call is limited to backup for the fellows.
• An ACGME-accredited fellowship to teach in. A two-year Rheumatology Fellowship with fellows rotating through faculty clinics, so you teach and mentor from the start.
• A first faculty position built to succeed. Structured mentorship, an initial period of salary protection while you establish your practice, and a Department of Medicine Office of Faculty Development and Advancement.

The Practice

Rheumatology at UMMC is predominantly outpatient, based in the University Medical Pavilion adjacent to University Hospital and supported by a rheumatology infusion service. Mississippi's patient population produces a very high volume of systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, inflammatory arthritis, and gout, and the most complex and rare rheumatic disease in the state is referred to UMMC. Rheumatology is among the most undersupplied subspecialties in the country, and the shortage is most acute in the Southeast; the impact of one additional academic rheumatologist here is felt statewide.

The section sits within the Division of Clinical Immunology, led by Gailen D. Marshall, MD, PhD, Professor and Director, Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Medicine, past President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and an NIH-funded investigator. Current Rheumatology faculty include the Fellowship Program Director and the Medical Director of the Rheumatology Clinic. The integrated division gives rheumatology faculty daily proximity to allergy and clinical immunology colleagues, translational investigators, and shared research infrastructure, and UMMC's separate Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Children's of Mississippi, the state's only children's hospital, offers natural collaboration in transition of care, lupus outcomes, and shared education.

Research and Scholarship

UMMC's research enterprise is supported by more than $110 million in sponsored program funding each year, and its MD-PhD program received NIH Medical Scientist Training Program designation in 2026. Programs unusually well suited to an academic rheumatologist include:

• Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR): an NIH-funded statewide center led from UMMC, with a Mentoring Academy, pilot project funding, a biostatistics and research design core, and a Scholars Program that provides salary support for protected research effort to junior faculty.
• Translational lupus research and clinical trials: an NIH-funded laboratory program on immune dysfunction and cardiovascular and renal injury in lupus that is extending into patient-based studies and seeking a clinical rheumatology partner; nephrology colleagues with a large lupus nephritis population and an interest in a collaborative lupus nephritis program; and active industry-sponsored lupus and lupus nephritis trials supported by a central Office of Clinical Trials.
• Jackson Heart Study: the nation's largest and longest-running longitudinal study of cardiovascular health in African Americans, based at UMMC, with ancillary investigation in rheumatology largely unexplored.
• Population health and real-world data: the John D. Bower School of Population Health, a de-identified institutional research data warehouse, access to Epic Cosmos and TriNetX, and Biobank Mississippi in partnership with Mayo Clinic.
• Cellular therapy: Mississippi's only bone marrow transplant and CAR-T cell therapy programs, positioning UMMC to adopt cellular therapy for refractory autoimmune disease as it matures.
• Telehealth: one of only two federally designated Telehealth Centers of Excellence in the country, with tele-rheumatology an open opportunity to extend subspecialty access across a rural, statewide population.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert outpatient and consultative care for adults with rheumatic, autoimmune, and musculoskeletal disease, precept fellow clinics, and share in the faculty rotation for inpatient consultation, with the clinical schedule and effort tailored to your academic pathway.
• Teach and mentor rheumatology fellows, internal medicine residents, and medical students, and contribute to the fellowship's conferences, scholarship, and quality improvement.
• Develop or advance a scholarly focus, which may include clinical or translational research, clinical trials, medical education, quality improvement, population health, or program development, and, for research-focused candidates, pursue extramural support appropriate to rank and role.
• Help define and grow a distinctive clinical or academic area within Rheumatology, such as lupus and lupus nephritis, vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, combined rheumatology-dermatology care, musculoskeletal ultrasound, tele-rheumatology, clinical trials, or clinical quality and informatics.

Compensation and Benefits

UMMC offers a competitive compensation plan benchmarked to national academic survey data, with an initial period of salary protection while a new faculty member establishes their practice, and a comprehensive benefits program: a choice between the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi and an optional retirement plan with immediate vesting, generous personal and medical leave, paid parental leave, occurrence-based professional liability coverage provided at no cost to the physician, and a half-tuition waiver for dependent children at the University of Mississippi. As a state institution, UMMC is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and research-focused faculty may be eligible for the NIH Loan Repayment Program. Academic rank, protected time, and the balance of clinical and academic effort will be commensurate with experience, accomplishments, and proposed role.

Living in Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the kind of place where an academic physician's salary goes a long way. The metro area's cost of living runs roughly 18 percent below the national average and housing about 40 percent below, and the average commute is under 25 minutes. Most UMMC faculty families live in Madison, Ridgeland, Flowood, Brandon, and Clinton, ten to twenty minutes from campus, with A-rated public school districts and strong private schools, and faculty children qualify for a half-tuition waiver at the University of Mississippi. As the state capital, Jackson is home to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Art, and the Fondren district's restaurant, music, and arts scene, with the 33,000-acre Ross Barnett Reservoir and the Natchez Trace Parkway just north of the city. Winters are mild, New Orleans, Memphis, and the Gulf Coast beaches are about three hours by car, and Jackson's airport, 15 minutes from campus, offers nonstop service to Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte, Washington, Miami, and Orlando.

Qualifications

Required

• MD, DO, or equivalent medical degree.
• Completion of an accredited fellowship in Rheumatology by the anticipated start date.
• Board certification or board eligibility in Rheumatology.
• Eligibility for an unrestricted Mississippi medical license and appropriate medical staff appointment.
• Demonstrated commitment to high-quality patient care across the full breadth of general rheumatology and to the academic missions of education and scholarship.
• Qualifications for appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor in the UMMC School of Medicine, as applicable.

Preferred

• Evidence of teaching, mentorship, scholarship, clinical research, quality improvement, or program development.
• A defined clinical, educational, or research interest that complements and expands the current program.
• For experienced candidates, a record of academic productivity, collaborative leadership, and program growth commensurate with career stage.
• Interest in serving a diverse, statewide patient population and advancing access to specialty care across Mississippi.
• A collaborative, team-oriented approach to practice and a desire to build a long-term career at UMMC.

International medical graduates are encouraged to apply. UMMC sponsors H-1B, J-1 waiver, and permanent residence petitions for faculty physicians.

About Academic Med

Academic Med (www.academic-med.com) is a retained executive search firm that works exclusively in academic medicine and healthcare leadership. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Plano, Texas, the firm partners with academic medical centers, medical schools, and health systems across the country to recruit department chairs, division chiefs, deans, center directors, and faculty. UMMC has engaged Academic Med to conduct this search on a retained, national basis so that the Division of Clinical Immunology can reach well beyond its own network. Every inquiry is handled in confidence, every candidate has a direct line to the search team and a complete picture of the opportunity before deciding whether to move forward, and Academic Med manages the process from first conversation through offer. Learn more at Academic Med - Leaders in Physician Recruitment and Executive Search.

How to Apply

UMMC has retained the executive search firm Academic Med to lead this national recruitment process.

All inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed to Jim Hagood, Managing Director, Academic Med. Candidates should submit a curriculum vitae and a brief letter describing their interest and relevant experience. Applications and nominations will be reviewed as received and will continue until the position is filled. Candidates may also apply through the Academic Med job posting. All inquiries will be held in strict confidence.

UMMC is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency and primary language), disability, age, sex (as that term is defined in applicable laws such as 45 CFR § 92.101(a)(2) and binding court decisions), religion, genetic information, veteran's status and any other status protected by applicable law.