Assistant​/Associate Professor

Job Description

The Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech seeks applicants for two (2) tenure-track research and teaching positions at the Assistant/Associate Professor levels in the area of Molecular Microbiology. We seek microbiologists who employ molecular techniques to study and modify microorganisms, with special emphasis on bacteria, fungi, and/or their viruses. The ideal candidates’ research programs would examine fundamental phenomena within the American Society for Microbiology’s three focus areas: health, applied & environmental microbiology, and mechanism discovery.

Potential research topics may include but are not limited to: fundamental biological questions using microbes as model systems, molecular mechanisms of bacterial or fungal pathogens, host-microbe interactions, systems analysis of microbes alone or in communities, synthetic biology, or the engineering of microbes. The successful candidates’ research should be able to sustain a long term extramurally funded program and complement existing strengths in the department and at Virginia Tech.
The successful candidates will be capable of teaching courses focused on molecular microbiology, microbial genetics, microbial physiology and/or microbial pathogenesis. Advising and mentoring of both graduate and undergraduate students is expected. Participation in departmental, college, and university affairs and collaboration with faculty both within and across the university is strongly encouraged and expected. These may include the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens (CeZAP) and other programs associated with the Fralin Life Sciences Institute or the Fralin Biomedical Institute.

Graduate recruiting can be through the departmental Graduate Program as well as via university-level graduate programs including the Infectious Disease Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (), Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB), and Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology (GBCB).

• Ph.D. in a relevant discipline (e.g., Microbiology, Biology, Molecular Biology).
• Demonstrated research accomplishments in the area of molecular microbiology.
• Demonstrated interest in developing and teaching courses in microbiology or closely related content areas.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in verbal and written communication.

• Evidence of ability to work in teams, including with academics in other disciplines, state or federal agencies, NGOs, or private industry.
• Demonstrated ability to acquire research funding.
• Demonstrated commitment to teaching excellence through experience and/or through training.
  
  Demonstrated record of collegial interactions across a broad range of communities.

Exempt:
Not eligible for overtime

Regular

Commensurate with experience

40 hours - exempt position

November 1, 2026

Inquiries should be addressed to the Search Committee Co-Chairs at VTMicro

Search.
Dr. David Popham, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and
Dr. Bryan Hsu, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061.

The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.