Position Description

The Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health (OSPH) at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas is seeking applicants for an innovative Early Impact Faculty program. This opportunity is open to current postdocs and PhD students who are within 9 months to defending their dissertation. Selected candidates will be offered a 12 to 18 months UTSW Assistant Instructor position, conditional on successfully defending their dissertation, followed by a Tenure Track Assistant Professor appointment. Current post-doctoral fellows may be eligible for a direct Tenure Track Assistant Professor appointment.

We are seeking candidates in all fields with training in public health, population sciences, behavioral health, epidemiology, implementation sciences, health services research, health economics, health policy, biostatistics, data sciences and AI who wish join OSPH to leverage their research excellence for public health impact.

Why OSPH?

Founded with a $100 million transformative gift from the O’Donnell Foundation — the largest founding gift to a school of public health — UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health has grown rapidly and now includes a multidisciplinary team of 70 primary faculty members, 75 scholars with secondary appointments, and 85 staff who conduct research and prepare the next generation of professions to address major public health challenges.  It offers master’s and PhD degrees in various concentrations of public health, clinical investigation and health informatics.  The school is poised to grow further in a short period of time.

Why UT Southwestern? 

• A research powerhouse: home of 6 Nobel Prize winners, 22 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 25 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 14 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators.
• Among the top 20 Best Large Employers in America in Forbes and Statista for 2023.
• 3000 full-time faculty who garner more than $719 million in annual grant funding for research. U.S News and World Reports ranks UTSW in the top 50 Best Hospitals for 11 different specialties nationwide for 2024-25.
• Top 3 globally for health care institutions in Nature Index for published research for the last decade.
• Access to large amounts of data for research through multiple large health systems – Parkland Health, Children’s Health, Texas Health Resources, the VA North Texas, and Texas Scottish Rite for Children.

Why Dallas?

• Provides unique academic and research opportunities within a culturally rich environment.
• The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has a diverse population of 7.8 million spread across 13 counties and 9,000 square miles. 

Qualification

• A Ph.D., Sc.D., DrPH, or equivalent research doctoral degree in a relevant discipline (completed by start date).
• Demonstrated ability to conduct impactful scholarly research.
• Ability to mentor students and capacity for teaching excellence at the graduate level.
• Highly self-motivated individual, enthusiastic about scientific discovery and able to collaborate closely and effectively with other members of multidisciplinary research teams.
• Desire to partner with healthcare systems, public health agencies, and/or community organizations to conduct research aimed at enhancing the health of the people of Texas and beyond.

The application package should include: 

• A cover letter accompanied by curriculum vitae (CV)
• Three-page research statement (organized as approximately a one-page summary of past research work and a two-page summary of future plans).

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community.  As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.

This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information.

Appointment rank will be commensurate with academic accomplishment and experience. Consideration may be given to applicants seeking less than a full-time schedule.

To learn more about the benefits UT Southwestern offers, visit https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/employees/hr-resources/