Neuro-Imaging and Ingestive Behavior - Open Rank Position
Posted: June 14, 2010 Job Number: 32398
Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Food Science AA Search #: 023-99
The Pennsylvania State University Colleges of Health and Human Development and Agricultural Sciences seek an outstanding scholar for a tenure track / tenured position (open rank) in the Departments of Nutritional Sciences and Food Science. Responsibilities include research, teaching and professional service. This will be a joint position with appointments to both departments; the primary home to be determined based upon the selected candidate’s research focus and background. The successful candidate will bring a sensory and/or affective perspective and will be expected to employ cutting-edge research methodologies, including MRI, to develop and support a nationally-recognized competitively-funded research program focused upon ingestive behavior. Preference will be given to a research trajectory highlighting adolescent behaviors. There is also enthusiasm for bringing methodologic rigor to the characterization and delivery of foods and food components to be tested in the scanner.
The Departments of Nutritional Sciences (nutrition.hhdev.psu.edu) and Food Science (foodscience.psu.edu) provide a supportive campus environment for ingestive behavior research with a well-established core of investigators and extensive new facilities. Resources include state of the art functional / structural MRI facilities with olfactometer and multiple food and sensory laboratories. There are also strong collaborative opportunities with colleagues within Food Science and Nutritional Sciences as well as in the Departments of Human Development and Family Studies, Biobehavioral Health, and Psychology, and with collaborators affiliated with the College of Medicine (www.hmc.psu.edu/college), the Institute for Diabetes and Obesity (pennstatehershey.org/web/diabetesandobesity), the Social Sciences Research Institute (www.ssri.psu.edu ), the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences (www.huck.psu.edu), the Center for Childhood Obesity Research (www.hhdev.psu.edu/ccor), and the General Clinical Research Center (www.gcrc.psu.edu). The successful applicant will also be expected to contribute to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The service component is anticipated to be appropriate to Penn State’s mission as a Land Grant university.
This position will be co-funded by The Children, Youth and Families Consortium (CYFC) (www.cyfc.psu.edu ). A unit of Penn State`s Social Science Research Institute, the CYFC is a university-wide initiative that promotes collaborative interdisciplinary research on critical social and human problems facing children, youth and families and the communities in which they live. The CYFC provides faculty members with a range of research services and supports, including development of collaborative connections, research consultation, seed funds, and sponsorship of workshops and conferences. The CYFC also supports research infrastructure at Penn State, including the Social Life and Engineering Sciences Imaging Center (www.imaging.psu.edu/).
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or a comparable doctoral level degree and research training in Neuroscience, Nutrition, Food Science, Psychology, or a related discipline and a publication record in peer-reviewed journals commensurate with anticipated faculty rank. Specific expertise in MRI and other neuro-imaging procedures is sought. The applicant must demonstrate his/her potential to procure external funding, and aptitude to teach and mentor students. Salary is competitive, commensurate with background and experience. An attractive benefits package is available. Start-up funds are available to support the applicant’s research program as well as use of the functional / structural MRI facilities.
Applicants should submit a cover letter of application, a curriculum vitae, a personal statement addressing interests and vision regarding research and teaching, and the names, titles and email addresses of three references.
Please address materials to:
Dr. Barbara Rolls,
Chair of the Search Committee
Department of Nutritional Sciences,
College of Health & Human Development,
110 Chandlee Laboratory,
University Park, PA 16802
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
