RCSB Protein Data Bank Director
and Tenured Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology

(3D Biostructure Chemist/Data Scientist, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick, NJ, USA) invites applications for a distinguished scientist, focused on 3D structures of biological macromolecules, to be appointed to the tenured rank of Professor. This role will include directorship of the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank and membership in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. The University is seeking an expert in experimental and/or computational structural biology with an outstanding record of accomplishment and excellent future promise, working at the interface between the chemical and data sciences and biology/medicine.

The Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB, RCSB.org), headquartered at Rutgers, is the United States data center of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank partnership (wwPDB.org). Now in its 53rd year of continuous operations, US government agencies have continuously funded the open-access PDB since 1971. Today, the RCSB PDB serves many millions of data consumers worldwide every year with its research-focused web portal RCSB.org, a one-stop-shop for the world’s public domain 3D biostructure information, and its training, outreach, and education portal (PDB101.RCSB.org). PDB data are also repackaged and redistributed by nearly 500 external biodata resources and used by major biopharmaceutical companies, all at no charge and with no limitations on usage.

The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) supports world-class academic and research programs and encourages collaboration with the many nearby chemical and biopharmaceutical companies. Some 36 tenured/tenure-track faculty plus 30 non-tenure-track faculty/technical staff comprising CCB are committed to advancing chemistry and related disciplines and to addressing challenges in health, energy, and the environment. Our teaching mission is to provide exceptional education at all levels, preparing students for leadership roles in industry, government laboratories, and academia. Aggregate federal funding awarded to CCB faculty has placed it in the top 20 chemistry departments among public universities nationwide for the past two decades. The State of New Jersey employs more than 40,000 individuals in chemistry and pharmaceutics-related companies, making it the 8th largest producer of chemicals in the nation and a leader in US science and technology.

Applicants must have received a Ph.D. (or foreign equivalent) in experimental or computational structural biology or related fields; made outstanding contributions in fundamental and/or applied research in academia or industry; and successfully led multidisciplinary teams engaged in national/international collaborations. The visionary appointee will be expected to direct the RCSB PDB and sustain its success for a decade or more; work closely with external advisory boards, Worldwide Protein Data Bank partners, and collaborators in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Africa; pursue world-class research; secure external federal and private funding; serve as an effective science communicator and educator; and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and structural biology and data science professionals by exemplifying and promoting a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

Applications should include a cover letter, CV, publication list, 3–4 page statement of research and leadership accomplishments and plans, 2–3 page statement of teaching/mentoring accomplishments and plans, and names of five potential references (candidates will be contacted before any letters are solicited).
All materials should be submitted online via ROCS to the posting: https://jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/208064.

Review of applications will begin in September 2024 and will continue until the position is filled.

About the RCSB PDB and the Rutgers Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology

RCSB PDB team members work at three academic institutions: Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, San University of California, San Diego, and the University of California San Francisco. The organization is headquartered within the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine (IQB.Rutgers.edu) at Rutgers, located alongside other prominent biomedical research centers and health and basic science departments. It sits on a suburban campus in Piscataway, New Jersey, near New York City, the Jersey Shore, Philadelphia, and Newark Liberty International Airport.

CCB faculty are primarily housed in new, state-of-the-art buildings, including Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Proteomics, and Life Sciences. Some hold appointments in other academic departments, the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, and the Waksman Institute for Microbiology. CCB hosts state-of-the-art bio-solutions, bio-solids, and materials high-field nuclear magnetic resonance, biomedical research innovation and mass spectrometry, X-ray, and microscopy core facilities. The RCSB PDB Director will leverage collaborative opportunities across units and University core facilities at the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine—including cryo-electron microscopy and macromolecular mass spectrometry—to drive leadership and innovation in structural biology, making breakthrough innovations at the intersection of chemistry, data science, biology, and medicine.

Rutgers is a leading national research university and the State of New Jersey’s preeminent, comprehensive public institution of higher education, committed to building a beloved community through University Equity and Inclusion. Established in 1766, the university is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United States. More than 70,000 students and 23,400 full- and part-time faculty and staff learn, work, and serve the public at Rutgers locations across New Jersey and around the world. Our community values leadership, respect, innovation and creativity, research and scholarship, integrity, and teamwork.