Regular professor series/Core Scientist position

OHSU is Oregon’s only public academic health center. We are a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and southwest Washington. We are an institution of higher learning, with schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry and public health – and with a network of campuses and partners throughout Oregon. We are a national research hub, with thousands of scientists developing lifesaving therapies and deeper understanding. We are a statewide economic engine and Portland’s largest employer. And as a public organization, we provide services for the most vulnerable Oregonians, and outreach to improve health in communities across the state.

Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). As one of the seven National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) supported by the National Institutes of Health, our mandate is help people across generations live longer, healthier lives through scientific breakthroughs.

We pursue our vision by supporting translational research and providing scientific expertise in a variety of NHP models. These allow us to ask key questions about aging, metabolic diseases like diabetes, neurological functions, reproductive challenges, and many others. Much of this opportunity is due to our multi-generational, pedigreed colonies that started to breed here in the early 1960s. Our research models are provided locally, regionally, and nationally on a collaborative basis.

The Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is accepting applications for a regular professor series/Core Scientist position in the Division of Metabolic Health and Disease. The Center is a premier translational research facility focused on nonhuman primate models of human disease. ONPRC research is carried out in the laboratories of 46 principal investigators in the areas of metabolism, neuroscience, reproduction, genetics, cardiovascular and infectious disease. The Center maintains a colony of more than 4,700 nonhuman primates, including rhesus, Japanese, and cynomolgus macaques, squirrel monkeys, and baboons managed by the Division of Animal Resources and Research Support, which includes 20 board-certified veterinarians and a staff of >150, including behaviorists and animal husbandry and service technicians. The Center also houses a unique Primate Multimodality Imaging Center (PIMC) specifically dedicated to advanced monitoring in support of nonhuman primate-based translational research.

Position Description:

The Center seeks an outstanding scientist at the assistant professor level or above with expertise in the application of advanced imaging to preclinical research models. The successful candidate will have an established independent research program, preferably in the general area of metabolic and cardiovascular disease, and with substantial expertise in advanced imaging, most essentially PET. Auxiliary expertise in other modalities such as SPECT-CT, ultrasound, and MRI would be desirable. A track record of work with nonhuman primates will be considered a substantial asset. 

Duties of the Position:

1. Maintain an independent, principally NIH-funded research program in their area of expertise, of which 50% (after an appropriate initial phase for investigators not previously engaged in nonhuman primate research) should involve nonhuman primate models.
2.  Play an active role in the Division of Metabolic Health and Disease through the development of appropriate scientific interactions with Division members and their collaborators, as well as with other ONPRC and OHSU investigators, including those at the Knight Cardiovascular Institute.
3. Provide senior scientific oversight for the ONPRC Primate Multimodality Imaging Center (PMIC). This facility houses state-of-the-art GE PET-CT, SPECT-CT, biplane angiography, and iDXA platforms, as well as GE, Siemens, and Phillips ultrasound systems. The operations of the PMIC are complemented by the ONPRC MRI Core, which houses a Siemens Prisma 3-T magnet, and the OHSU Center for Radiochemistry Research and its research cyclotron and PET-MR capabilities.
4. Serve as a resource for other ONPRC/VGTI/OHSU investigators engaged in advanced imaging studies as an advisor, collaborator, or in a more formal role such as co-PI (MPI) or co-investigator on research grants as appropriate.

The preferred candidate will:

• Hold an MD, DO, DVM, and/or PhD degree in a biomedical field with demonstrated expertise in advanced imaging.
• Will conduct an independently funded research program.
• Will have nonhuman primate research experience. However, scientists with clinical or rodent research backgrounds will be considered with the understanding that he or she would transition to primarily nonhuman primate work within a reasonable time frame.
• Will have a focus on metabolism/cardiovascular research. However, qualified candidates with research interests in other areas such as neuroscience, reproduction, or infectious disease will also be considered.