University of North Texas 
The College of Science is searching for five strategic hires with research focus in the areas of cancer, biomedical, and health science to build upon our critical mass in high-impact, interdisciplinary research and complement the current research conducted by our faculty in biomedical sciences.
The UNT College of Science is searching for five strategic hires with research focus in the areas of cancer, biomedical, and health science to build upon our critical mass in high-impact, interdisciplinary research and complement the current research conducted by our faculty in biomedical sciences.
These hires will directly advance the Look North: UNT 2030 Strategic Plan by helping expand student access to research-intensive career training. With opportunities to engage and collaborate with researchers across the UNT System, they will also add to the university's growing interdisciplinary research capacity in cancer and health sciences. We expect these hires to align with our goals to increase competitiveness for external funding and support UNT's impact in the biomedical research sector, and we look forward to their participation in helping UNT form strong relationships with regional industry partners and health systems.
OPEN POSITIONS
Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
Research: Application of AI and computational modeling the function of biological macromolecules and processes, for the purpose of understanding macromolecule interaction and function, drug development, and treatment.
Biophysics (Physics)
UNT System: Associate Professor of Biophysics
Research: Medical physics, biomaterials, or biophotonics to cover a research gap in this emerging field and to take advantage of existing UNT research facilities, such as the Ion Beam Lab.
Cancer Biology (Biological Sciences)
UNT System: Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology
Research: Physiology and molecular biology of cancer, or development and application of immunotherapy methods for cancer treatment.
Chemical Oncology – Diagnosis and Mechanism (Chemistry)
UNT System: Assistant/Associate Professor of Chemical Oncology
Research: Application of chemistry research tools for diagnosing and understanding the underlying mechanism of cancer.
Microbiology-Microbiome (Biological Sciences)
UNT System: Assistant/Associate Professor of Microbiology
Research: Microbiome research that pertains to organismal health and interaction with the environment.
CURRENT FACULTY & RESEARCH IN THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
The College of Science has a strong core of junior and senior faculty with active research programs in biomedical or health related areas. The following are recent faculty hires with active research programs in health-related areas.
Dr. Daniel Afosah (Chemistry) is a medicinal chemist working at the interface of synthetic organic chemistry and therapeutics.
Dr. Rohan Balakrishnan (Biological Sciences) is a microbial biochemist whose research focuses on understanding how bacteria survive stress as it relates to antibiotic resistance and microbial persistence, cooperation between microbial communities, and environmental microbiology.
Dr. Bojun Chen (Biological Sciences) is a neurobiologist whose research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying nerve function, in particular synaptic transmission and ion channel function.
Dr. Xin Cui (Chemistry) is a synthetic organic and organometallic chemist who develops novel methods for the synthesis of complex organic molecules with potential biological activity.
Dr. Feng Gu (Biological Sciences) is a neuroscientist whose research is centered around unraveling the mechanisms of epilepsy, brain damage and repair following ischemic stroke and trauma, and Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Yanxiao Han (Biological Sciences) is a computational biologist conducting interdisciplinary research at the interface of molecular biophysics, hormone signaling, and therapeutic design.
Dr. Vanessa Macias’ (Biological Sciences) research is centered around the biology of mosquitoes and developing small RNA technology that can be used for mosquito control.
Dr. Fanju Meng (Biological Sciences) is an expert in epigenetic regulation of developmental processes, with a focus on embryogenesis and a goal of understanding how our genome is decoded to facilitate developmental fate transitions during embryogenesis.
Dr. Anastasia Sacharidou (Biological Sciences) is a molecular physiologist whose research focuses on type 2 diabetes and the endothelial origin of insulin resistance. She also studies the endothelial origin of autoimmune disorders.
Dr. Elizabeth Skellam (Chemistry) is a chemical biologist with unique expertise in the biosynthesis of natural products in fungi; few researchers have Dr. Skellam’s expertise in understanding and harnessing fungal enzymatic pathways to discover yet unknown bioactive compounds, some of which may have anticancer activity.
Dr. Ikjot Sohal’s (Biological Sciences) research is a cancer biologist focused on fundamental and translational research focused on developing RNA-based therapies to target signaling processes associated with tumors.
Dr. Omar Valsson (Chemistry) is a computational and theoretical chemist developing and applying advanced atomistic simulation and machine learning/AI methods to model complex biomolecular systems and processes, including protein-ligand interactions, protein-protein interactions, and targeted protein degradation.
The College of Science also has senior faculty with expertise and active research in health-related fields:
Dr. Ana Alonso (Biological Sciences) is a University Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the BioDiscovery Institute studying the metabolism of human fungal pathogens, addressing global challenges related to food and energy security.
Dr. Warren Burggren (Biological Sciences) is a University Distinguished Research Professor studying the development of the embryonic heart, respiratory and renal systems, and the epigenetic influences on development.
Dr. Dane Crossley (Biological Sciences) studies the integrative developmental physiology of the cardiorespiratory system.
Dr. Edward Dzialowski (Biological Sciences) is a developmental physiologist researching the influence of environmental stressors on the cardiovascular, metabolic, and respiratory systems.
Dr. Pudur Jagadeeswaran (Biological Sciences) is a Regents Professor researching blood diseases including thrombosis and thrombopoiesis.
Dr. Amie Lund (Biological Sciences) is an environmental toxicologist investigating the mechanisms by which environmental pollutants contribute to diseases, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and neurovascular disorders.
Dr. Edward Mager (Biological Sciences) is an environmental toxicologist conducting research on ecotoxicology and the impact of environmental stressors on animal behavior and function.
Dr. Douglas Root (Biological Sciences) is a biochemist conducting research on force spectroscopy for muscle function and targeted therapeutics for modulating muscle contractibility.
Dr. Bibhudutta Rout (Physics) is a physicist with expertise in ionizing radiation and ion beam microscopy in a variety of materials including investigation of intracellular elemental distribution in biological samples.
Dr. Jyoti Shah (Biological Sciences) is a University Distinguished Research Professor and department chair focusing on fungal pathogenesis and mycotoxins and control of fungal diseases and mycotoxin accumulation in food crops.
Dr. Xiaoqiang Wang (Biological Sciences) is a biochemist studying protein structure and design, and enzyme mediated drug metabolism and detoxification.
The College of Science at the University of North Texas is a research-intensive unit that contributes to discoveries in both basic and applied sciences. In addition to its strong research mission, the departments within the College of Science are committed to delivering high-quality instruction that meets the needs of a large and diverse population of undergraduate and graduate students. Many of these students are interested in pursuing careers across a wide range of fields, with health-related professions representing a significant area of interest.