Sleep Research Faculty Position

Associate Professor/Professor Sleep Research Faculty Position

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) invites nominations and applications for a leadership position in Sleep Medicine at the Associate Professor or Professor Rank.  The successful candidate for this position will hold a primary, tenure-track (or tenured, depending on qualifications) appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.  The department is nationally recognized research intensive department that consistently ranks in the top 10 NIH funded psychiatry departments in the United States with an annual research portfolio exceedingly $40M.

The successful candidate will serve as the Director of the Department’s Clinical Sleep Research Laboratory and as the Director, Clinical Research Programs at the MUSC Sleep Disorders Treatment and Research Center (MUSC SDTRC).  Thus, the person in this position will serve in two leadership capacities:  1) Director, Clinical Sleep Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and 2) as the lead consultant for the MUSC health system in the development of clinical sleep research.   

The MUSC SDTRC consists of 11 accredited sleep beds (3 inpatient and 8 outpatient beds) that offer routine sleep evaluations (PSG’s, MSLT etc.) to children and adults.  The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences currently houses 2 research-only sleep beds, which is being expanded at the Institute of Psychiatry into a 4-6 research-dedicated bed sleep center.  The successful candidate will direct the latter clinical sleep research center.

MUSC has many faculty members with a primary interest in sleep, which bridge several departments and colleges.  The Department of Psychiatry’s and Behavioral Sciences’ Sleep Research Laboratory serves as a research-only laboratory and is located on the same floor as the Brain Stimulation Laboratory and other physiological technologies, which can accommodate a range of methodological approaches to the investigation of sleep and sleep disorders.  There are approximately 15 faculty members in the department conducting sleep research, which includes the department’s Molecular Sleep Laboratory that conducts pre-clinical research investigating the neural circuitry of sleep using a range of methods including optogenetics, DREDD, immunohistochemistry, and single cell recording of neurons in freely-behaving rodents.  Thus, the successful candidate will have an opportunity to interact and collaborate with investigators and clinical scientists to promote translational research.

In terms of clinical sleep expertise, the department serves as a tertiary referral resource for sleep disorders.  The Sleep and Anxiety Treatment and Research Program constitute a “team” of physicians and psychologists with a primary interest in sleep disorders.  This program sponsors psychiatry fellows and psychology interns who wish to obtain advanced training in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders.  This program has a strong focus on the study and treatment of sleep problems co-morbid with a wide range of other mental, medical, and neuropsychiatric disorders.  The clinic serves as a unique resource in terms of providing comprehensive team-based and integrated medical (pharmacotherapeutic, chronobiologic) and behavioral medicine (CBT-I) personalized treatments for primary and secondary sleep disorders.    

To be considered for this Associate or Professor position (tenured-track) candidates will require a record of independent peer-review research and current external funding, with a strong desire to promote system-wide collaborations in the conduct of sleep research.  Candidates must have an MD or PhD with board certification in sleep medicine.  Although expertise and willingness to take the lead in providing qualitative and operative oversight of the department’s sleep research laboratory (not clinical sleep beds) is required for this position the primary focus of the successful candidate in sleep research could be preclinical or clinical, with special consideration given to candidates who explore T1-T4 translational areas of scientific inquiry.

Review of applications will begin immediately with an initial round of review. Applicants must apply ONLINE at http://careers.pageuppeople.com/756/cw/en-us/job/494830/univprofessorpsychiatry (req 0494830). Your ONLINE application for this position should also include curriculum vitae, the names and contact information of at least three references, and a cover letter expressing your qualifications and statement of research interests addressed to: Thomas Uhde, MD, Chair Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC 29425.

Nominations of qualified individuals are also welcome. The nominee’s CV should be sent via EMAIL to: Thomas Uhde, MD, c/o Suzy Watson at uhdepsych@musc.edu.

For individuals with potential interest in this position who are attending Sleep 2017 in Boston, June 3-7, please contact Ms. Suzy Watson at 843-792-0028 to arrange a meeting with Dr. Uhde.  

MUSC is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to age, race, gender, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.