Tenured Faculty and Director, Gene Therapy Center

Employment Type: Permanent Faculty

Vacancy ID: FAC0003152

Position Summary/Description:

The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill is seeking candidates for a tenured faculty position in the Department of Pediatrics. Rank will be determined at a level commensurate with the applicant's experience and accomplishments.
This position will have an administrative role as the Director for the UNC Gene Therapy Center, a productive, well-funded, and internationally recognized center for both adeno-associated virus and lentivirus vector development. The UNC School of Medicine created the Gene Therapy Center in 1993 with the goal of merging genetics research with healthcare delivery. The mission of the Gene Therapy Center is to focus on the development of novel gene delivery systems and application of translational research for patient populations affected by genetic disorders. Goals include, providing an intellectual environment for a diverse community of research scientists dedicated to basic and translational research; these scientists explore the molecular biology of viral and non-viral vector delivery systems for use in basic research with the eventual goal of human gene therapy. Towards this end, the UNC Gene Therapy Center has engaged in a number of seminal Phase I gene transfer studies. These studies have included patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Hemophilia B, and Mucopolysaccharidosis.
Additional goals of the Gene Therapy Center include understanding the mechanism of cell entry, persistence, and immune response at the basic science level in order to create more efficient gene transfer vectors. To accomplish this, the Gene Therapy Center brings together a diverse group of gene therapy scientists to not only share facilities, but also work collaboratively to advance the understanding of gene delivery mechanisms. In addition, a specialized