1855 Associate Professor-Tenure System

Position Summary

The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (PharmTox) and the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health (CSM DPH) invite applications for a tenure track faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor in the area of environmental toxicology. This candidate will study environmental contaminants and their relation to improving public health. Ideal applicants will be expected to focus their research on environmental contaminants within the United States and, when possible, within the Midwest, with the goal of improving public health. Successful candidates will be expected to bring or develop a successful independent research program funded by NIH or other federal sources. They will also be expected to participate in advising, mentoring, and teaching graduate students in the PharmTox program and/or CSM DPH. This position will be shared by the MSU College of Human Medicine and College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The successful candidate will spend most of their time (60%) conducting community-engaged research (centered on current and emerging environmental contaminants, how exposure to them is distributed throughout populations, methods to understand and reduce their effects on those who are socially and medically vulnerable, and methods to advance public health. This research could be a wet lab or computational (including health services research, qualitative/survey research, etc.) in nature, focusing on understanding the pathophysiological impact of environmental contaminants. The research should also have an environmental health component. The position will also have a significant service/outreach component (30%) to foster relationships with communities disproportionately impacted by the contaminants studied, incorporate their priorities and perspectives into the research, and engage with them in environmental policy advocacy, stewardship, or other partnerships. Finally, the successful candidate will develop teaching modules on environmental toxicology (10%) for the PharmTox MS program and the MPH program in the CSM DPH.

The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology strives to pioneer new therapies, unravel toxicant mechanisms, and develop leaders in science and healthcare who will make substantial contributions to society. Our PharmTox faculty and students engage in groundbreaking research that explores various aspects of pharmacology and toxicology including drug discovery, chemical and food safety, and translational impact woven throughout our funded research activities. Since the inauguration of the Department in 1966, faculty in the Department have been leaders within professional societies, and students have gone onto highly successful careers spanning industry, government, and academia. PharmTox is home to doctoral- and masters-level degree programs, an undergraduate minor, multiple training grants for students and postdoctoral scholars, and summer programs to support research immersion. Our partnerships with departments and centers spanning the breadth of the university help to strengthen research collaboration.

The Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, based in Flint, Michigan, is the first academic department to be co-developed and co-governed in partnership with the communities it serves. Flint community members had the idea to build a medical school department in Flint; they co-founded the Department, set academic priorities for the Department, and they served on Department search committees and in other Department leadership roles. As a result of this innovative community-partnered approach, the Department has obtained more than $193 million in external funding since it began <10 years ago, including 3 NIH Center grants. It has also increased real-world impact, including exposing and helping to ameliorate the Flint Water Crisis.  Flint is home to some of the leading community member environmental advocates in the country who are eager to work with researchers to advance environmental justice. 

Michigan State University has outstanding department, college, and university-wide basic and translational research programs that provide opportunities for collaborative research, including basic science and clinical departments in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Human Medicine, College of Nursing, and College of Veterinary Medicine as well as the Institute for Integrative Toxicology.  MSU has a new 30-year partnership agreement with Henry Ford Health, serving the greater Detroit area.  The Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint, near the CSM DPH campus, provides comprehensive pediatric primary care and specialty services. MSU has core facilities to support research, including advanced microscopy, proteomics, statistics, high-performance computing, bioinformatics, genomics, and flow cytometry. Support is available for grant writing, locating external funding resources, and processing grant submissions pre- and post-approval. Numerous internal funding opportunities are available to support emerging research programs. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to participate in graduate education programs, including the BioMolecular Science Gateway program which feeds the PharmTox PhD program, the Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology doctoral program, and the MPH program in the CSM DPH.

Michigan State University—situated in East Lansing, MI—is one of the nation's largest and most beautiful campuses, and the University is home to a diverse international community of dedicated students and scholars, athletes and artists, scientists, teachers, and leaders. The MSU CSM DPH—located approximately 45 minutes away in the rejuvenating downtown Flint, Michigan—is a rapidly growing research center with outstanding community partnerships and health research. Both the Flint and East Lansing campuses boast a low cost of living with convenient access to other large cultural centers such as Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Detroit, and Chicago. Michigan, the Great Lakes State, with its numerous inland lakes and rivers, state and national parks, national lakeshores, world-class golf courses, and ample snowfall, offers various seasonal outdoor recreational activities. Visit www.puremichigan.org for more details. Scientific and personal travel are made easy by proximity to several major international airports (in particular, Grand Rapids and Detroit). We are committed to promoting the principles of equal opportunity and multiculturalism where all individuals are valued, respected, and provided the opportunity to flourish and open doors in their pursuit of excellence. We encourage and welcome our community to share ideas with us surrounding opportunities to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

1855 Professorship

The Office of the Provost is committed to faculty, staff and student success by Advancing Inclusive Excellence at MSU, which aligns with the goals of the MSU 2030 Strategic Plan. Among other initiatives to advance inclusive excellence at MSU, 1855 Professorships were created to attract faculty members who will help advance our inclusive excellence objectives. Faculty hired through this thematic hiring initiative will be scholars whose teaching, research, creative activities, outreach, engagement, or leadership addresses systemic barriers or inequities.

Michigan State University was founded in 1855 which gives meaning to the 1855 professor initiative. The 1855 Professorship is an Office of the Provost initiative that provides an opportunity for MSU, as a founding land-grant university, to reimagine itself particularly around impacts it's had on populations in Michigan and beyond, with respect to sub-populations that have traditionally been underserved. Overall, the 1855 professors will be engaged in research, outreach and instruction that is highly impactful on communities who have been historically underrepresented. We know that the problems that marginalized communities face are complex, multilayered, and intangible. Therefore, the science/research that is applied to address those issues should stem from more than one area. The 1855 hiring process emphasizes cross-department, cross-college, inter-disciplinary, and multi-disciplinary research/teaching/outreach to address issues of compounded, multi-generational issues.

This position will be required to work in East Lansing or Flint with the possibility of periodic remote work.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Degree

Doctorate -Toxicology, Environmental Health, Public Health or a related field.

Minimum Requirements

Ph.D., Sc.D., Dr.P.H., or equivalent degree in Toxicology, Environmental Health, Public Health or a related field.

Desired Qualifications

Research expertise on methods to understand and reduce the effects of environmental contaminants and methods to advance public health. 

Required Application Materials

(1) CV

(2) Cover letter. In three pages or less, describe: 1) the candidate’s proposed research program, 2) history and/or plans for community engaged research, 3) teaching philosophy, and 4) motivation for applying to this position at Michigan State University.

(3) Research statement. In two pages or less: 1) describe the candidate’s prior research and proposed research program moving forward, and 2) identify any potential areas of synergy within the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology as well as within the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health.

(4) List of three references.  The search committee will not contact references without first notifying the candidate.

Review of Applications Begins On

03/11/2026

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

Website

https://phmtox.msu.edu/

https://publichealth.msu.edu/

 

MSU Statement

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.