Ranks: Assistant​/Associate​/Professor of Neurology; Tenure or Tenure-Track

The Carol and Gene Ludwig Center at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center is seeking an investigator to join a team of clinician scientists, computational biologists, statistical geneticists, cell biologists, molecular biologists and protein chemists/biophysicists. The goal of the team is to understand the fundamental biology of neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer disease. The concept is that this understanding will form the basis for future attempts to build effective diagnostics and therapeutics.

The current principal approach of this team is to identify genetic variants associated with risk, resilience or resistance to these diseases, as well as genetic variants that modulate the disease phenotype (age of onset, specific clinical or pathological features), and to uncover mechanisms of action mediated by these variants.

The successful candidate will bring complementary skills and interests that further enhance the capacity of the team to delve more deeply into disease pathobiology. Specifically, the successful candidate will apply their expertise to investigate the functional effects of genetic variants (or pools of genetic variants) that have been nominated by prior genetic studies (GWAS, WGS, etc.) and then further filtered/enriched by computational methods.

Several different potential approaches can be envisaged.

Other responsibilities include:

• Will collaboratively engage with existing expertise in clinical research (Neurology, neuropathology, neuropsychology), statistical genetics, computational biology, cellular biology (including spatial multi-omics) and biochemistry (protein biochemistry, metabolomics, lipidomics, neuro-inflammation);
• Will work especially closely with core faculty of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Center to generate ideas for new multi‑PI collaborative efforts to uncover mechanisms leading to dysregulation and resilience in neurodegeneration;
• Participate in the intellectual activities of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Center including participation in weekly lab meetings with other labs, monthly Ludwig Scholar’s and Taub Institute seminars and annual symposia;
• Participate in/peer review Ludwig pilot grant program;
• Grow their own research program through internal and external grant applications, and through the hiring and supervision of their own lab staff;
• Apply for research grants to support their salary, staff’s salary and equipment/consumables;
• Supervise and mentor undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral learners (and as appropriate, other faculty).

The Carol and Gene Ludwig Center for Research on Neurodegeneration (CGLC) was established in 2022 and is located in the heart of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center within the Department of Neurology. The Center is led by Dr. Elizabeth Bradshaw, Co‑Director and Adler Assistant Professor of Neurological Sciences;
Dr. Peter St George‑Hyslop, MD, FRCPC, FRS, Co‑Director and Belle and Murray Nathan Professor of Neurology, Dr. Vilas Menon, Co‑Director and Assistant Professor of Neurological Sciences, Dr. Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc, Chair of the Department of Neurology, along with twelve Ludwig Scholars. Together, this leadership team provides strategic vision and scientific oversight to advance the Center’s mission.

The Center’s mission is to define the molecular and cellular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease and related neurodegenerative diseases and to share knowledge with others to facilitate translation into novel biomarkers and therapeutics.

At the core of the CGLC’s mission is the support of high‑risk, high‑reward research through a Pilot Grant program, fostering innovative translational studies designed to uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving neurodegenerative disease. The Carol and Gene Ludwig Center’s goal is to cultivate a dynamic research community focused on understanding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and translating these insights into clinically impactful tools.

By harnessing internal CU resources, we are creating a collaborative hub that integrates neuroimmunology, functional genomics,…