The NIH Common Fund’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program aims to enhance and maintain cultures of inclusive excellence in the biomedical research community. “Inclusive excellence” refers to cultures that establish and sustain scientific environments that cultivate and benefit from a full range of talent. NIH aims to facilitate institutions in their building a self-reinforcing community of scientists, through recruitment of a critical mass of early-career faculty who have a demonstrated commitment to inclusive excellence. The program also seeks to have a positive impact on faculty development, retention, progression, and eventual promotion, as well as develop inclusive environments that are sustainable.

The following FIRST programs are hiring:

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Tuskegee University

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Tuskegee University (TU) invite applications from early-career scientists to apply for tenure-track faculty positions at the Assistant Professor level. We are seeking exceptional candidates from all disciplines with expertise in any of the following research areas: Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Obesity & Diabetes, and Neuroscience with a focus on Health Disparities. In particular, UAB and TU are seeking candidates: a) who have a strong health disparities focus to their research, b) who are responsive to needs/opportunities and program requirements, c) who are well-qualified, d) who have a strong record of promoting diversity and inclusive excellence, and e) whose research interests align with the proposed research areas.

These positions are supported by an NIH award to UAB and TU as part of the NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program. The FIRST Cohort program aims to transform culture at two types of NIH-funded extramural institutions by building a self-reinforcing community of scientists committed to inclusive excellence, through recruitment of a diverse group of individuals. Additional information and a link to submit your application can be found at https://sites.uab.edu/benjamincarverfirst/apply/

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

See attached for information on faculty positions in Cancer, Neuroscience, Health Equity and Infectious Disease and Microbiology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai or visit icahn.mssm.edu/research/nih-first for more information.

Cornell University

Funded with a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program, Cornell University’s FIRST program (Cornell FIRST) supports the diversification of Cornell faculty in the biological, biomedical, and health sciences. The Cornell FIRST program aims to hire 10 assistant professors in 3 major research areas:

  • Quantitative biomedical sciences (biomedical engineering, systems biology, epidemiology, quantitative modeling);
  • Infection biology (immunology, bacteriology, public health); and
  • Health equity (behavioral science, public health, health communication)

If interested, check out the open searches here.

The University of New Mexico

The University of New Mexico (UNM) FIRST program will hire a diverse cohort of early-career faculty in the areas of neuroscience and data science who are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The recruitment and retention of the UNM FIRST cohort will diversify the biomedical faculty workforce within UNM’s College of Arts and Sciences, including the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, Physics & Astronomy, Mathematics & Statistics, and Speech & Hearing Sciences, and systemically transform culture towards inclusive excellence in a Hispanic-Serving and Carnegie Very High Research Activity institution located within a racially and ethnically diverse state. The UNM FIRST program is funded by the NIH Common Fund’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program.

For more information or to be added to our mailing list of interested applicants please complete this form or email us at unmfirst@unm.edu.

The University of California – San Diego

The UC San Diego FIRST Program is recruiting 12 new diverse Assistant Professors in the areas of Cancer, Cardiovascular Sciences, Immunology/Infectious Diseases & Neurosciences to an innovative cohort program with strong mentorship in research and career development, academic promotion, access to networks and communities of diverse scholars! UC San Diego FIRST faculty will be appointed in suitable departments across campus, including Health Sciences and general campus.

For more information about the program, please visit: first.ucsd.edu.

Florida State University

On behalf of the Florida FIRST Brigade leadership, we are pleased to announce that we are looking for an Assistant Professor, 9-month tenure-track, multiple positions available. Please contact Bianca Eugene, be14@fsu.edu, with any questions.

Florida State University (FSU) is one of 6 programs among the first cohort of the NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program. FSU aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a program, Fostering Institutional Resources for Science Transformation: The FLORIDA-FIRST Health-Science Brigade (U54CA267730-01), to transform culture at FSU to generate a self-sustaining scientific community dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence. Through this exciting initiative, we are recruiting a FIRST Cohort of 6 early-career researchers who demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence and who contribute to clusters of research excellence in chronic disease prevention and management (Cluster 1) or mental health (Cluster 2). New hires will participate in a systems-level approach to support individual faculty research and career development (micro), within their cohort and collaborative networks (meso), that can be replicated through sustainable changes to university culture (macro).

We seek to hire multiple tenure-track assistant professors with a research focus on mental health or chronic disease prevention and management. The new hires in the FIRST Cohort will hold a primary appointment in one of the Equity Research Corner centers in addition to their tenure-track appointment in departments/colleges appropriate to their research foci. Appointments come with full summer salary and at least 75% protected time for research for the first three years.

Hiring for these positions is conducted on a rolling basis. Applications will be reviewed until all positions are filled.

Learn more and apply online here.

The University of South Carolina

The Arnold School of Public Health (ASPH) and the College of Nursing (CON) at the University of South Carolina (UofSC) invite applications for ten tenure-track faculty positions as part of the NIH-funded UofSC FIRST FIIRRE program. The multi-year NIH FIRST (Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation) initiative intends to enhance inclusive excellence at competitively determined institutions across the United States. In the context of UofSC’s strategic plan, the FIRST FIIRRE (Faculty Initiative for Improved Recruitment, Retention, and Experience) team has developed a tailored strategy to achieve significant and sustainable institutional culture change by implementing institutional programs and practices that support inclusive excellence. As part of the FIRST FIIRRE cluster recruitment, UofSC seeks diverse candidates from all areas of public health and nursing who (1) have a research focus on health disparities or inequities within their respective discipline, (2) have a strong record of promoting diversity and inclusive excellence, and (3) have not previously held a tenure-track position.

Successful candidates will have a primary tenure track appointment in either ASPH or CON with the possibility of joint/secondary appointments to other units. These appointments feature 75% protected research time until receipt of tenure and will be expected to contribute to the teaching and service mission of UofSC. The FIRST FIIRRE program will offer candidates competitive salaries, start-up packages, comprehensive onboarding support, extensive faculty development, career advancement services, and tailored support from a diverse mentoring team.

Review the FIIRE Faculty Search informational document for more details on Qualifications and How to Apply.

University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland-Baltimore County

University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland – Baltimore County will hire a diverse cohort of at least 10 early-career scientists into tenure-track assistant professor positions. UM FIRST will recruit candidates whose research interests align with various departments, institutes, and centers that have demonstrated validated organizational readiness to promote the advancement of early-career faculty.

These new faculty will be hired into broadly themed areas of cancer biology, neuroscience, and microbiology/immunology/vaccinology/infectious diseases, which are areas of significant strength at both institutions.

View full details here. Please submit inquiries about this position here. Interested candidates may apply here.