Assistant Professor

Location: SICCS

 Regular/Temporary: Regular

Job ID: 608138

 Full/Part Time: Full-Time

About the Position

The School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS) at Northern Arizona University seeks to hire a tenure-track Assistant Professor with expertise in Health Services Research, Health Informatics, Data Science, Biostatistics and/or Epidemiology to expand our expertise in the broad area of health equity.

The successful candidate will hold a regular tenure-track faculty appointment in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems (SICCS) as well an assignment as a core member of the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER), a nationally recognized research center that seeks to eliminate health disparities among diverse populations of the southwestern United States. For more about research opportunities and synergy with CHER faculty and staff visit the https://nau.edu/center-health-equity-research.

The candidate will also have opportunities to be involved with the newly accredited residential and online Master of Public Health Program (Nutrition, Health Promotion, Indigenous Health) and the Interdisciplinary Health (IH) PhD Program (Disability, Health Equity, and Psychosocial Health) which is a collaborative effort between the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS).

Initial start-up support for this position will come from the “The Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC)” award to CHER/NAU from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Research Centers for Minority Serving Institutions (U54). This award enables NAU to build and expand research capacity in biomedical, clinical, and behavioral sciences across the University. Successful candidates will be expected to advance the aims of the SHERC. SHERC researchers report within their home academic units for all aspects of annual and promotion/tenure review as well as annual workload assignments. For about research goals, capacity and opportunities within SHERC visit the https://nau.edu/sherc/.

NAU is uniquely positioned to be a leading university in health equity research given our longstanding commitment to serving underrepresented students and citizens in our region, our strong working relationships with tribal, Hispanic (NAU is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution), and rural communities, and our dedication to conducting health equity research that directly improves the lives of the people we serve.

Position Summary:

We seek applicants for a full-time (9-month) tenure-track research and teaching faculty position at the Assistant Professor level, to start in the Fall of 2025. The successful candidate will hold a Ph.D. in Health Services Research, Health Informatics, Data Science, Biostatistics and/or Epidemiology; will have demonstrated expertise in large scale applied statistical analysis as well as an established research record in this area and will have demonstrated experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team. Scholarly work should reflect best practices regarding statistical analysis and reporting, study design, study recruitment, and other indices of optimal and transparent research.

We value diversity and seek individuals committed to collaborative, interdisciplinary, and community-engaged research. Researchers in all areas of large-scale statistical analysis within the public health domain are encouraged to apply. Areas of specific research growth in CHER include large-scale data analysis in cross-cutting areas such as social determinants of health, behavioral and clinical health, and methodological and analytical strategies for community-based, randomized control/experimental and multilevel interventions.

SICCS offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees, with roughly fifty faculty, 1500 undergraduates and 300 graduate students associate spanning bio/eco/health-informatics, computer science, and autonomous systems engineering. Our core mission is to integrate interdisciplinary developments in scientific and engineering knowledge around computation, data, and systems with traditional science and public health disciplines to drive breakthroughs that address key 21st-century challenges. Our faculty frequently collaborate with researchers at institutes and centers across campus, including the Center for Health Equity Research, the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, the Center for Bioengineering Innovation, the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, the Center for Materials Interfaces in Research and Applications (¡MIRA!), and the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society.

NAU is committed to hiring faculty as teacher-scholars, and although these faculty positions are expected to have a strong focus on research, candidates are expected to play a meaningful role in the delivery of academic programming at NAU via classroom teaching and mentoring of undergraduate, masters, and/or doctoral students.

Responsibilities Include:

• Build and maintain an independent research program that is supported by external funding and produces peer-reviewed science with applications in public health;

• Contribute to the teaching mission of NAU, including the teaching and mentoring of undergraduate, MS, and PhD students in Public Health, Computer Science, and Informatics, as well as post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty.

• Perform service for the department, center, college, university and profession.

This position is an on-site position which requires the incumbent to complete their work primarily at an NAU site, campus, or facility with or without accommodation. Opportunities for remote work are rare.

Minimum Qualifications

• An earned doctoral (Ph.D. or Sc.D.) degree in Health Services Research, Health Informatics, Data Science, Biostatistics and/or Epidemiology or closely related area by August 16th, 2025.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise in one or more of large-scale statistical analysis, demographic studies and analysis, development of public health data collection mechanisms and pipelines, and applied development of computational analysis in public health contexts.

• Strong record of scholarly productivity and promise for future excellence, as evidenced by peer-reviewed scholarly publications in high quality forums

• Evidence of health services, health informatics, epidemiological, biostatistical or equivalent research with an emphasis on health disparity and health equity.

• Established record of an independently funded research program and promise for future excellence, as evidenced by participation and leadership in securing extramural funding from federal agencies such as NIH, NSF, CDC, HRSA, or equivalent sources.

• Demonstrated interest in engaging with and leading collaborative multi- and inter-disciplinary teams, especially in clinical and translational research that complements existing areas of expertise within SICCS and CHER.

• Evidence of experience assisting with the design and analysis of clinical trials in medical, behavioral and or implementation studies, following best practices established in the field of biostatistics.

• Demonstrated ability in statistical programming and development of significant software modules related to large-scale statistical analysis.

• University-level teaching and mentorship experience, at the undergraduate and graduate level.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Experience working with people from a variety of culturally diverse backgrounds.

• Demonstrated commitment to health disparity, social and structural determinants of health and health equity research.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

• Leadership ability in working as a part of a multidisciplinary team and developing multi-investigator grants and programs.

• Demonstrated ability to translate published research into policy and practice.

• Ability to translate published or novel statistics methods or concepts into applied computational tools in the form of high-quality software modules.

• Experience in hands-on code development to solve realistic applied computational problems using a variety of software frameworks and coding languages (e.g., R, Python, SAS, SPSS).

• Excellent outreach and oral/written communication skills with a wide variety of audiences, including healthcare professionals, community stakeholders, sponsors, and/or policy makers.

• Ability to work effectively with other faculty to coordinate teaching, scholarship, and service efforts to support success for all students.

Compensation & Benefits

Anticipated salary range is $85,000 to $100,000. Annual salary commensurate with candidate's qualifications and related experience.

This is a Faculty (FAC) position. NAU offers an excellent benefit package including generous health, dental and vision insurance; participation in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) or the Optional Retirement Program (ORP); sick leave accruals and 10 holidays per year; and tuition reduction for employees and qualified family members. More information on benefits at NAU is available at the NAU https://in.nau.edu/human-resources/benefits/. Faculty are hired on a contract basis, renewable according to terms of the https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/conditions-of-faculty-service/. Employees offered a position will be eligible for state health plans (including NAU's BCBS Plan). Employees will have 31 days from date of hire to enroll in benefits, and their benefits will then be effective the first day of the pay period following their completed enrollment. If a new employee chooses the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) retirement option, participation in the ASRS Plan (and the long-term disability coverage that accompanies it) will begin on the first of the pay period following 183 days of employment. New employees who choose to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP; an alternative to the ASRS plan) will begin to participate on the first day of the pay period following election. The long-term disability plan that accompanies the ORP will begin on the first day of the pay period following election. More information about NAU benefits is available at the NAU https://in.nau.edu/human-resources/benefits/.

Pre-Employment Check

Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, an employment history verification and a degree verification (in some cases) prior to employment. You may also be required to complete a fingerprint background check. Additionally, as an employer in the state of Arizona, NAU is required to participate in the federal E-Verify program that assists employers with verifying new employees' right to work in the United States. Finally, each year Northern Arizona University releases an https://in.nau.edu/police-department/annual-security-and-fire-safety-reports/. The report is a result of a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report includes Clery reportable crime statistics for the three most recent completed calendar years and discloses procedures, practices and programs NAU uses to keep students and employees safe including how to report crimes or other emergencies occurring on campus. In addition, the https://in.nau.edu/police-department/annual-security-and-fire-safety-reports/ is combined with the Annual Security Report for the NAU Flagstaff Mountain Campus as this campus has on-campus student housing. This report discloses fire safety policies and procedures related to on-campus student housing and statistics for fires that occurred in those facilities. If you would like a free paper copy of the report, please contact the NAUPD Records Department at (928) 523-8884 or by visiting the department at 525 E. Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff.

FLSA Status

This position is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and therefore will not earn overtime or compensatory time for additional time worked.

Submit Your Application

Vacancy will remain open until filled. Applications received before December 2, 2024 will receive full consideration.

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply" button at the end of the job description (if viewing this position through the NAU HR website). Otherwise, to view the original post and to apply, proceed to http://nau.jobs, follow the 'Current Openings' link, locate vacancy 608138, and then "Apply" at the bottom of the page.

Application must include (saved as PDF and/or Word documents):

• a cover letter highlighting your particular qualifications for this position;

• a curriculum vitae; and

• names and contact information for three references.

Please do not include any other documents.

If you need assistance completing your application there are instructions available on the https://in.nau.edu/human-resources/employment-application-instructions/ or in person in the Human Resources Department located in Building 91 on the NAU Campus - on the corner of Beaver and DuPont Streets.

If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact the Disability Resources Office at 928-523-8773, http://DR@nau.edu, or PO Box 5633, Flagstaff AZ 86011.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Northern Arizona University is a committed Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution. Women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. NAU is responsive to the needs of dual career couples.

https://in.nau.edu/Human-Resources/Posters-Required-by-Law/

NAU is an Employer of National Service. AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other National Service alumni are encouraged to apply.