Open-Rank Faculty Position
Position overview
Position title: Open-Rank Faculty PositionApplication Window
Open date: September 18, 2026
Next review date: Sunday, Oct 18, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor. We welcome candidates investigating fundamental mechanisms and translational applications across the following possible areas of specialization that include but are not limited to: bacteriology, parasitology, virology, immunology, immunotherapy, systems biology, and molecular genetics.
The UCLA MIMG Department is located within the David Geffen School of Medicine and the Division of Life Sciences, which serves undergraduate and graduate students. The search is geared toward candidates who share our belief in excellence in research, teaching, and service. The new faculty member will benefit from the stimulating and supportive environment of outstanding colleagues across the UCLA campus and from opportunities for collaborations within and across disciplines. Applicants must hold a Ph.D., M.D., or M.D./Ph.D. or equivalent degree, and have at least one first-author publication. Preference will be given to candidates who hold a degree in the following disciplines: Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Microbiology, Immunology, Genetics, Biomedical Sciences, or within a Life Science Discipline. Applicants should demonstrate a strong track record of or potential for productive and impactful research and extramural research support relative to their career stage.
Initial application review will begin October 18, 2026. Apply by October 18, 2026, to ensure full consideration by the search committee. Applications should include a cover letter, a curriculum vitae (including a list of publications), statement of research interests and career goals, and statement of teaching experience and philosophy. Each of the two statements can be up to two pages in length and should summarize the candidate's prior accomplishments and future plans. In addition, candidates may submit up to three relevant publications. Candidates should also provide contact information for three referees who can speak to the candidate's qualifications for the position. Any inquiries about the position should be sent to the search committee chair, Associate Professor Dr. Melody Li, at mimgchairsoffice@mednet.ucla.edu.
Final candidates can expect to be invited to interview in February 2027, with the exact dates to be finalized.
Apply and submit all materials at UCLA Recruit.
The shared values of the DGSOM are expressed in the Cultural North Star, which was developed by members of our community and affirms our unswerving commitment to doing what’s right, making things better, and being kind. These are the standards to which we hold ourselves, and one another. Please read more about this important DGSOM program at Cultural North Star.
All aspects of searches are confidential and all candidates are expected to review and abide by UC Regents Policy 1111 on Statement on Ethical Values and Standards of Conduct.
The University of California is committed to creating and maintaining a community dedicated to the advancement, application, and transmission of knowledge and creative endeavors through academic excellence, where all individuals who participate in University programs and activities can work and learn together in a safe and secure environment, free of violence, harassment, bullying and other demeaning behavior, discrimination, exploitation, or intimidation. With this commitment as well as a commitment to addressing all forms of academic misconduct, UCLA conducts targeted employment reference checks for finalists to whom departments or other hiring units would like to extend formal offers of appointment into Academic Senate faculty positions. The targeted employment reference checks involve contacting the finalists’ current and prior places of employment to ask whether there have been substantiated findings of misconduct that would violate the University’s Faculty Code of Conduct. To implement this process, UCLA requires all applicants for Academic Senate faculty positions to complete, sign, and upload the form entitled “Authorization to Release Information” into RECRUIT as part of their application. If the applicant does not include the signed authorization to release information with the application materials, the application will be considered incomplete. As with any incomplete application, the application will not receive further consideration. Although all applicants for faculty recruitments must complete the entire application, only finalists (i.e., those to whom the department or other hiring unit would like to extend a formal offer) considered for Academic Senate faculty positions will be subject to targeted employment reference checks.
Qualifications
Applicants must hold a Ph.D., M.D., or M.D./Ph.D., or equivalent degree, and have at least one first-author publication.
Preference will be given to candidates who hold a degree in the following disciplines: Biology, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Microbiology, Immunology, Genetics, Biomedical Sciences, or within a Life Science Discipline.
Application Requirements
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter
Statement of Research
Statement of Teaching
Reference check authorization release form - Complete and upload the reference check authorization release form
UCLA Mission Statement - As the nation's premier public research university, UC's mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. We have a particular responsibility to the people of California which we express in the excellence of the education we provide, the impact of the research we do, the comprehensive, life-saving medical services we provide, and the public service mission we are devoted to. The University of California promotes the social mobility of its students, equips them with the tools and experience that furthers their ambitions, and regards their accomplishments across the life span as evidence of the profoundly positive impact of higher education.
The UCLA campus has expressed these goals in its strategic plan as follows:
Deepen our engagement with Los Angeles
Expand our reach as a global university
Enhance our research and creative activities
Elevate how we teach
Become a more effective institutionPrompt for candidates for recruitment:
Reflecting on your personal and professional experiences, highlight your past contributions and future commitments to advancing UCLA's mission as embodied in the 2023-28 strategic plan. These accomplishments and ambitions may be discussed in the context of describing your teaching, scholarship, and service
Relevant Publication 1 - Upload a PDF version of a relevant publication
Relevant Publication 2 - Upload a PDF version of a relevant publication
Relevant Publication 3 - Upload a PDF version of a relevant publication
Miscellaneous/Additional (Optional)
- 3-5 letters of reference required
Include contact information for three recommenders. Letters of recommendation will be requested at a later date from applicants who progress to a later stage of review.
Help contact: pamorales@mednet.ucla.edu
About UCLA
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.
- “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
- UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
- UC Anti-Discrimination Policy for Employees, Students and Third Parties
- APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment