Career Center

The Hormel Institute is searching for a Full/Associate Professor level faculty member with a strong track record of outstanding leadership within relevant research areas, with a Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET focus. Applicants should possess a proven track record of providing visionary leadership and management, exceptional strategic thinking skills, passion for and commitment to biomedical research, as well as a history of securing research funding, building relationships and managing a research unit or core. In addition, candidates should have experience with new and innovative models of collaboration and outreach with ethical values that demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Current Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET Facilities
In 2016, The Hormel Institute acquired a Titan Krios G2 cryo-electron microscope (FEI) with phase  plates and a Falcon III direct electron detector. A year later, the Institute added, a) a fiber microscope  network for faster image data transfer and processing, b) an image (500TB) storage system for image  processing, c) new software and d) GPU workstations in the lab and server rooms. A 3 PB high  performance image storage system and computer cluster containing multiple and expandable GPUs of the latest NVIDIA technology became operational last year. More recently, a Gatan KIII-Biocontinuum  camera/energy filter combination was acquired to replace the Falcon III detector. The EM facility houses a 200 kV Tecnai Spirit Biowin TEM (FEI) with a 4x4 CCD camera with specimen holders for single tilt, tomography and cryo-sample analysis. A second separate laboratory contains state of the art sample preparation equipment, including an FEI Vitrobot Mark IV plunger and a next generation Vitrobot V for  grid freezing, a Leica EMACE 600 glow discharger and space for LN2 grid storage. 

Computational needs are supported by the Institute's IT department, which provides interactive  supercomputing and software support for Cryo-EM users, data processing and software. The IT group  has over twenty years of experience with high performance computing and networking, programming and  optimization of workflows. The IT group also maintains the long-term data storage and optimizes internet data transfers.

Enhancement and Expansion of Cryo-EM/Cryo-ET Capabilities
The Minnesota Bioimaging Center (MBiC) is a planned, major physical expansion to improve capabilities for biochemical, biophysical, and high-resolution structural analysis of macromolecular samples (e.g., cryo-EM; cryo-ET; X-ray crystallography) with a goal of becoming a resource for researchers in both Minnesota and the broader Midwest. The plan includes i) a second 300kV Titan Krios with capabilities for tomography, focused ion beam milling and cryo-ET; ii) an expanded shared instrument core for  protein production, biochemical and biophysical analysis, and high-throughput small molecule screening;  iii) a mass spectrometry core housing multiple instruments for protein, peptide, and small molecule characterization; iv) an expanded IT core with increased data storage, processing, and analysis capacities;  v) a vastly improved infrastructure for sample preparation and storage, and vi) on-site collaboration and training spaces with 20 work stations for data access and analysis. The MBiC addition will include other major instrumentation unrelated to electron microscopy, such as laboratories for X-ray crystallography, fluorescent microscopy, macromolecular sample preparation, drug screening, freezer banks for sample storage, as well as open space for collaboration and training/mentoring, offices for MBiC support staff, and flex space for future expansion. We will continue developing and expanding training programs for students and faculty wishing to learn about biomolecular structure and function based research. We are close to raising the target $22  million in institutional support from The Hormel Foundation, UMN, and the Mayo Clinic for the first 5 years of operation. MBiC fiscal future sustainability will be ensured through four primary, dependable revenue streams, i.e., institutional support from The Hormel Foundation, UMN (two independent revenue streams), and user fees.

The Hormel Institute scientists have private access to many other cutting-edge technologies in core facilities that support animal, cell and molecular biology as well as biochemistry and biophysics experimentation beyond that individual labs. Some examples include FACS Cell Sorting, Confocal  Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, Protein Crystallography Robotics and Rigaku 007 microfocus X-ray  diffraction system, and nano-HPLC-AB SCIEX triple TOF 5600 mass spectrometry. Access also is provided to IVIS live animal imaging, Leica tissue Processor, Embedder and Microtome, tissue microdissection, real-time PCR instrumentation, Odyssey Infrared Imaging System, 5 racks of Linux GPU supercomputers for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Spectrophotometers, Fluorometers (Horiba SPEX FluoroLog 3), Surface Plasmon Resonance (Biacore T200 system) and Gel/Western Blot Imagers.

Responsibilities

Research

• Productive scientist with independent ideas, capable of working across disciplines.
• Maintain a strong, extramurally funded and collaborative research program that exploits genetic, molecular, biophysical, optical, EM, ET, mathematical and/or chemical approaches to advance understanding of cell and/or organism function.

Teaching and Service

• The individual will supervise multiple job classifications that include, but are not limited to, Ph.D. students, Post-Doctoral Associates, and researchers.
• Assess work performance of program employees on an on-going annual basis and identify areas of improvement through mentorship.
• Ensure proper onboarding, training, and the setting of expectations for all employees.
• Set goals for employees ensuring they comply with The Hormel Institute’s mission and vision.
• Create a collaborative, innovative, and welcoming lab environment.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and The Hormel Institute endorses a “work with flexibility” approach that offers a welcoming and flexible work environment where everyone is inspired to do their best. Work location options include working fully remote, partially remote, or entirely in the office and are based on the work of the position. Some on-site work may be necessary for certain positions, even those designated as fully remote.

This position has been designated as OVPR Work Profile One.
OVPR Work Profile One is expected to work primarily on-site. Your office will be located at The Hormel Institute in Austin, MN.  The Hormel Institute management retains the right to modify flexible work arrangement agreements on a temporary or permanent basis for any reason at any time.

Required Qualifications

• M.D., Ph.D., or M.D/Ph.D. with strong background in biochemistry/biophysics/structural biology.
• Have an active and internationally visible research program and proven track record using Cryo ET and/or Cryo-EM.
• Candidates from within the US should have active extramural funding.
• All candidates should have evidence of a strong publication record in disciplines related to the position.
• Demonstrated leadership capabilities.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Evidence of the potential to initiate and sustain a strong research program.
• Ability to communicate effectively with multiple audiences.
• Track record of interacting creatively, collaboratively, and productively with other scientists.
• Evidence of commitment to teaching and student learning.

About University of Minnesota Twin Cities

The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

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