KOÇ UNIVERSITY IS SEEKING A SENIOR LEVEL RESEARCHER TO SERVE AS THE ERA CHAIR OF TRANSPLANT IMMUNOLOGY

The ERA Chair will be recruited by the Koç University in Istanbul, Türkiye for the duration of sixty months (5 Years) under a full employment contract with a follow-up opportunity for tenure.

THE ERA CHAIR PROJECT

 

The Koç University Transplant Immunology Research Centre of Excellence “TIREX” project is funded by the Horizon 2020 ERA Chair programme and it aims to foster excellent interdisciplinary research in the field of Transplant Immunology. TIREX will not only bring the Turkish research in Transplant Immunology closer to entire Europe but will also constitute an important regional Centre of Excellence for South-Eastern Europe, connecting ERA with Asia and Middle East countries, while also meeting the regional, national and European priorities. The TIREX ERA Chair project is expected to create an example and a point of reference, generating great opportunities for KU and improving its attractiveness as a leading research destination for top-class researchers. For more information please visit https://kutirex.ku.edu.tr/

 

JOB DESCRIPTION

 

An initial role of the ERA chair holder ECH position is provided below;

 

• Leading R&D activity of the ERA chair of Transplant Immunology;
• General responsibility for the strategic development and operational management of the ERA Chair;
• Responsibility for establishing and supervising his/her own research team;
• Building the research excellence and institutional capacity of the ERA Chair;
• Ensuring international recognition and visibility for the ERA Chair and KU in general;
• Supporting the process of turning research results into socially and economically relevant solutions.

 

KU will offer full autonomy to the hired ECH so that he/she structures his/her team as he/she considers appropriate for achieving the scientific and sustainability goals of the Lab. The ECH will be free to choose the Lab’s composition and specify requirements towards the researchers (i.e. the team, researchers’ profile and experience, etc.).

 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS OF CANDIDATES

 

• The applicants must possess a curriculum vitae reflecting scientific excellence, according to highly demanding international standards, in the Transplant Immunology research or related fields. They are expected to be active leading researchers, with a track-record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years.
• Applicants must be scientifically independent and have a recent research track-record and profile which identifies them as leaders in Transplant Immunology (i.e. R4: Leading Researcher). They should be international leaders in terms of originality and significance of research contributions, holding a PhD title.
• The applicants should demonstrate high level performance in research in the areas of clinical and translational research; training program development; supervising graduate students; international research;
• Proven record in securing international research funding and experience with industry cooperation.
• Proven experience in management of faculty, personnel, research teams; resource allocation.

CRITERIA AND SELECTION PROCEDURE

 

Selection Committee

 

The received applications will be reviewed and scored by a Selection Committee that will be composed by the members of the International Advisory Board, KU Management, the Project Coordinator, the Project and Quality Manager, and members of the project’s Steering Committee.

 

The selection process will consist of two stages: 1) Remote evaluation (weight of 70%): analysis of the CVs of the candidates and of a draft Scientific & Management Plan for the Transplant Immunology Lab; 2) Interview evaluation (weight of 30%): Interview and presentation of the candidates’ draft Scientific & Management Plan.

 

Criterion	Elements to be considered
Scientific performance	1. Number of publications as the first author. 2. Number of publications as the corresponding author. 3. H-index.
Management and securing funds	1. International research projects (as a project coordinator). 2. National research projects (as a project coordinator). 3. Number of Patents. 4. Cooperation with industry. 5. International projects in cooperation with industry (as a coordinator). 6. National projects in cooperation with industry (as a coordinator).
Teaching coordination	1. Experience in teaching. 2. Research team leadership. 3. Administrative duties (director etc.). 4. MSc supervision/ mentoring. 5. PhD supervision/ mentoring. 6. Mobility (e.g. length of stay) secondments to the private sector; number of countries
Scientific and Management Plan	Adequacy and competitiveness of the proposed SMP for the Lab; SMP describing the applicant’s scientific strategy for the implementation of the Lab and his/her needs/expectations in terms of research capacity.

 

Interviews will be conducted through web conference or face-to-face meetings, as may be deemed appropriate.

 

BENEFITS

 

Salary/Contract Information: Contract will be for five years (the length of the EU supported ERA Chair project) with a competitive salary that is commensurate with experience of the applicant.

The expected starting date is April 2021.

HOW TO APPLY

The application is made online. Applications, including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statements of teaching and research interests, publication list, and at least three reference letters, must be directly sent to vprd@ku.edu.tr by e-mail.

The closing date for applications is Dec 15^th, 2020.

HELPDESK

Applicants can receive support regarding applications to this position via e-mail: vprd@ku.edu.tr