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University of Alabama

31 March 2008

New Endowed Chairs for Cancer Research in Genetics, Nutrition, and Molecular Epidemiology
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with the Departments of Genetics, Nutrition Sciences, and Epidemiology in the Schools of Medicine, Health Professions, and Public Health, respectively, are currently seeking candidates for three newly endowed chairs.

The endowed chairs include the William and Joy Harbert Chair in Cancer Genetics, the Webb Chair in Nutrition Sciences, and the Caldwell Marks Chair in Cancer Molecular Epidemiology.

The existing strong collaborative research and clinical environment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will facilitate a close working relationship among the endowed chairs and their respective programmatic activity. This will provide synergy that will lead to outstanding research programs in the genetic, molecular, nutritional, and environmental factors related to cancer development, metastasis, and persistence. Specific areas of investigation could include immunogenetics, pharmacogenetics, and identification of major gene or phenotype modifying genes predisposing to cancer or cancer progression; classification, diagnosis and management of cancer; genotype-phenotype complexity; genetic, nutritional and environmental relationships in the development and progression of cancer; and the role of obesity in oncogenesis.


Resources needed to build these programs will be provided to each endowed chair, and the chairs will be encouraged to work collaboratively with each other and with existing resources in the three departments and the Comprehensive Cancer Center. The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center (www.ccc.uab.edu) has approximately $100 million in annual direct extramural funding, nine major research programs, fifteen shared facilities, and three SPOREs. The Department of Genetics (www.uab.edu/genetics) includes 29 faculty, a portfolio of NIH and other external research support, and hosts university-wide core genomics laboratories. The Department of Nutrition Sciences (www.uab.edu/nutrition) has more than 20 faculty, 90 staff and a robust portfolio of extramural research including two NIH-funded research centers. The Department of Epidemiology (http://www.soph.uab.edu/default.aspx?id=16) has 20 faculty and a large NIH-funded Genetics and Molecular Epidemiology Program and works closely with the Section of Statistical Genetics in the Department of Biostatistics (http://www.soph.uab.edu/ssg/).

The endowed chairs are tenure or tenure-earning positions with salary and rank commensurate with the candidates’ qualifications. Nominations and applications should include full curriculum vitae and names and addresses of at least three references and should be submitted to:

William and Joy Harbert Chair in Cancer Genetics
Ronald D. Alvarez, MD, Chairman, Search Committee
c/o Angi White
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Department of Genetics
1530 3rd Avenue South, KAUL 230
Birmingham, AL 35294-0024
205-934-9411
awhite@genetics.uab.edu

Webb Chair in Nutrition Sciences
Douglas C. Heimburger, M.D.
Chairman, Search Committee
Department of Nutrition Sciences
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1530 3rd Avenue South, Webb 439
Birmingham, AL 35294-3360
205-934-7058
dheimbur@uab.edu

Caldwell Marks Chair in Cancer Molecular Epidemiology
Tim R. Nagy, PhD
Chairman, Search Committee – Cancer Molecular
Epidemiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
1530 3rd Avenue South, Webb 419
Birmingham, AL 35294-3360
tnagy@uab.edu

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. UAB is especially interested in candidates who contribute to the diversity and excellence of our academic community through their research, teaching and/or service.