Faculty Position: Canada Research Chair in Addiction Research at McMaster University (Assistant/Associate Professor)

Canada Research Chair in Addictions Research: McMaster is experiencing an exciting period of growth in addiction research, exemplified by the burgeoning Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research (PBCAR). Founded in 2014, the PBCAR is a partnership between McMaster’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH). Directed by Dr. James MacKillop, the Centre serves as the nexus for experimental and clinical research on addiction at McMaster and SJHH. More than 30 faculty are affiliated with the Centre, pursuing a wide variety of scholarly interests.

Position Description: The Faculty of Health Sciences invites applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in addiction research, broadly defined. Priority focus areas include: 1) cognitive neuroscience, including both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging; 2) behavioral science, including human psychopharmacology; and 3) clinical research, including both observational studies and randomized controlled trials. These areas are not ranked in order of importance. The Chair will be a full-time appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor or possess the necessary qualifications to be appointed to these levels.

Tier 2 Chairs, tenable for five years and renewable once, are intended for exceptional emerging researchers (i.e., candidates must have been an active researcher in their field for fewer than 10 years at the time of nomination) and acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.

Tier 2 nominees must:

•    be excellent emerging world-class researchers who have demonstrated particular research creativity; 

•    have potential to achieve international recognition in their fields in the next 5-10 years;

•    as chairholders, have the potential to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers; and

•    be proposing an original, innovative research program of high quality. 

Candidates who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree and who have had career breaks, such as maternity, parental, or extended  sick leave, clinical training, etc., may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 Justification process.

Full program information, including further details on eligibility criteria, can be found at the Canada Research Chairs website at Nominate a Chair (chairs-chaires.gc.ca). All nominations for CRCs are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat.

The successful applicant must demonstrate a compelling vision for both continuing and further developing McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences strengths in addiction research, as well as carrying on and enhancing McMaster University’s Strategic Research Plan. The candidate must have completed a Ph.D. or other doctoral degree in a related discipline.

The Chair will be expected to maintain an outstanding program of research, to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels, to supervise and cultivate an  intellectual community of graduate students working in one of these areas, to help sustain the collegial atmosphere within the Faculty, and to help realize the Faculty’s and University’s commitment to the goals of equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

How to apply:

Applicants should submit a letter of application together with a curriculum vitae, a sample of publications (up to 5), evidence of teaching effectiveness, a research program summary proposal (3 pages maximum), a summary proposal of plans for the further development in one of the aforementioned areas (cognitive neuroscience, human psychopharmacology, or clinical research); and a statement describing contributions that the applicant may have made to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in teaching, learning, research or service within post-secondary, community-based and other settings (2 pages maximum).

The deadline for submission for this position is November 30^th, 2023, at 5:00pm. Applications must be submitted via https://hr.mcmaster.ca/careers/current-opportunities/ (Job #57444)

McMaster University recognizes the legitimate impact that career interruptions and personal circumstances (e.g., pregnancy, early childcare, eldercare, illness, etc.) can have on a candidate’s record of research achievement. Career interruptions and leaves will be taken into careful consideration during the assessment process. We encourage candidates to explain in their applications the impact that career interruptions or other issues may have had as described under “Career Interruptions and Personal Circumstances” under Guidelines for Assessing the Productivity of Nominees at Assessing the Productivity of Nominees (chairs-chaires.gc.ca). All applicants will receive and on-line confirmation of receipt of their application; however only short-listed applicants will be contacted for interviews.

The Canada Research Chairs program requires institutions to collect self-identification data from all applicants, in accordance with the program’s best practices. As part of McMaster’s efforts to fulfill our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusivity, all applicants will be required to submit a brief diversity survey, via the online application system, as part of the application process. While completion of the survey is mandatory, it is voluntary to answer the individual survey questions, and applicants can choose to decline the survey. Applicants are encouraged to indicate whether they self-identify as a member of one or more of the groups, as applicable. Any information directly related to each applicant is confidential and can only be accessed by designated personnel in Human Resources and ROADS for institutional planning purposes and for meeting reporting requirements. Aggregated and anonymized data regarding the applicant pool will be reported only to the chair of the selection committee and the committee’s equity advisor.

McMaster University is located on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Mississauga Nations and, within the lands protected by the Dish With One Spoon wampum agreement. In keeping with its Statement on Building an Inclusive Community with a Shared Purpose, McMaster University strives to embody the values of respect, collaboration and diversity, and has a strong commitment to employment equity.