Simons Empire Faculty Fellowship

Overview

Department:
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

The Simons Foundation (SF) and the Simons Foundation International (SFI) have created the Simons Empire Faculty Fellowship program to stimulate faculty hiring across the state of New York.

With support from the Simons Foundation
, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo (UB) is recruiting for a strategically aligned faculty cluster to accelerate human-centered neuroscience, translational discovery, and neurotechnology innovation. These hires directly respond to emerging NIH priorities, SUNY’s strategic emphasis on translational and AI-integrated research, and UB’s institutional strengths in foundational neuroscience, engineering, and drug development.

Anchored in the basic and clinical neurosciences, these positions will insert expertise into high-value translational nodes, bridging laboratory discovery with clinical relevance, and catalyze integrative collaboration across departments, cores, and academic units, including the School of Pharmacy, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.

Assistant Professor – AI-Guided Organoid-Based Neuroscience

Responsibilities:

• Establish a research program focused on human iPSC‑derived cerebral organoids or assembloids to model brain development, neural circuit formation, or disease pathophysiology.
• Develop scalable imaging pipelines leveraging artificial intelligence to extract structural and functional data from live and fixed organoid systems.
• Collaborate with the Cell Phenotyping Core to implement shared workflows and imaging services.
• Participate in shaping institutional infrastructure for human model systems.
• Engage with patient‑derived lines and phenotype‑linked experimental modeling as UB builds its capacity to link biospecimens to clinical data.
• Mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
• Teach one course per year.
• Participate in collaborative neuroscience and translational science initiatives across UB and the SUNY Brain Network.
• Receive a formal mentoring committee and mid‑career review in Year 3 to support progress toward tenure.

Assistant Professor – Neuroengineer (Lab‑on‑a‑Chip Platforms for Brain Discovery)

Responsibilities:

• Design and apply microphysiological systems, such as lab‑on‑a‑chip or biosensor‑integrated constructs, to study neural network dynamics, disease mechanisms, or drug response using in vitro or ex vivo systems.
• Collaborate with neuroscientists, stem cell researchers, and pharmacologists to integrate devices into biological discovery workflows.
• Contribute to the development of closed‑loop experimental systems that enable high‑resolution control and monitoring of neural function.
• Support the advancement of UB’s core facilities by co‑developing shared device platforms and contributing to core training and instrumentation strategies.
• Mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
• Teach one course per year aligned with their area of expertise.
• Receive mentorship from an interdisciplinary team across neuroscience and engineering and undergo a formal mid‑career review in Year 3 to ensure progress toward tenure.

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well‑being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.

University at Buffalo is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and, in keeping with our commitment, welcomes all to apply including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Arrangements will be made if an applicant has a disability in order to provide access to the application, interview and selection process upon request. Reasonable accommodation requests must be made in a timely manner by email at diversity or by phone 716‑645‑2266.

Contact's Name: Kate Levy

Pronouns: (none provided)

Title: Director of Research Planning, Office of Biomedical Research

Email: klevy2

Phone:

Posted: 01/09/2026

Date to be filled: 09/01/2026

Number of References

Required:

3

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

• * Please indicate your current employment affiliation with the University at Buffalo.
  • Faculty
  • Faculty Student Association (FSA)
  • Research Foundation Employee
  • State Classified
  • State Professional
  • UB Foundation
  • TA/GA
  • Student
  • No Current Employment Affiliation
• * How did you first hear about this employment opportunity?
  • Chronicle of Higher Education
  • HERCjobs.org
  • Conference
  • Personal Referral
  • UBJobs.buffalo.edu
  • Other
• * Are you a SUNY employee eligible for special consideration as a result of retrenchment?
  • Yes
  • No
• * Please indicate which Simons Empire Faculty Fellowship position you are interested in (please note: you can select one or both):
  • 1) Assistant Professor – AI‑Guided Organoid‑Based Neuroscience
  • 2) Assistant Professor – Neuroengineer (Lab‑on‑a‑Chip Platforms for Brain Discovery)