VIPBG - Research Faculty F73640 & F73650

Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics’ (VIPBG’s) mission is to study the etiology of psychiatric, substance use, and major biomedical disorders that have a significant behavioral component. Our foci are genetic epidemiology, molecular genetics/genomics, and the development of statistical methods and software to analyze genetic data. We aim to understand the interplay of genetic, environmental and developmental factors in behavioral and mental health, to address public health issues, to educate the next generation of researchers, and to share findings with the scientific community via publications and conference presentations.

The Department of Psychiatry is seeking candidates for two T&R Faculty positions, at Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics’ (VIPBG). The Faculty member will be responsible for obtaining grants to support their research, collaborating with other faculty, and growing their research program at the university including publications, teaching and service to the scientific community.  

VIPBG is a highly collaborative interdisciplinary institute with complementary research programs aimed at understanding how genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to psychiatric and related behavioral outcomes (see www.vipbg.vcu.edu). 

Joint appointments are possible with complementary departments. Start-up packages are available, and salary, tenure-eligibility, and rank will be commensurate with experience.

Teaching - There are no set teaching requirements however the candidate is expected to contribute their expertise to relevant courses taught at the Institute and to mentor graduate students and post-docs working in their research program/laboratory.

Research - The faculty member should have a scholarly/research portfolio which complements the existing expertise in the institute with evidence of multi-disciplinary applications. They are expected to be an engaged collaborator to enhance the research program at the Institute.

Service - Faculty member will serve on Departmental, College, and/or University committees as necessary, as well as in a professional capacity in their field, e.g., reviewer, conference organizer etc.

Minimum Qualifications

• MD or PhD or equivalent with training in statistical genetics/genomics, behavioral genetics/genomics, computational genetics/genomics and/or neuroimaging
• Faculty member will be required to have a clear research agenda and a potential for external funding, and potential for scholarship or creative expression to complement and expand existing expertise in the institute
• An interest in areas complementary to current VIPBG expertise, e.g., psychiatric and/or substance use disorder genetics and genomics
• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism, and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU

Preferred Qualifications

The candidate(s) will bring expertise in at least one of the following areas:

• Statistical genetics/genomics, including skills in molecular genetics/genomics/epigenomics, population genetics, bioinformatics, multi-ancestry genomics, genetic variant curation, statistical methods development, emerging technologies (e.g., single-cell sequencing, chromatin conformation)
• Behavior genetics/genomics, including skills in twin and family modeling within a structural equation modeling (SEM, such as OpenMx) framework; experience with multivariate modeling, longitudinal/developmental modeling, and the use of both continuous and ordinal data
• Computational genetics/genomics, including skills in clinical informatics, genomic data science, multi-omic analyses, biostatistical methods and analysis, machine learning, artificial intelligence, reproducible pipelines, high performance cloud computing, Python, R, and/or other computational language coding
• Additional expertise in neuroimaging research, including structural MRI, fMRI, and connectivity studies would be of interest but is not required