Description
Cancer Biology and Immunology - A Division-wide, Open-rank Faculty Search #BSD041
Salary Range: PhD: $140,000 - $350,000, dependent on experience and academic rank; MD or MD/PhD: $170,000 - $475,000, dependent on experience, clinical expectations, and academic rank
Scope and Opportunity
The University of Chicago's Biological Sciences Division is searching for full-time scientists, physician-scientists, and engineers whose work will help define the next generation of cancer biology and immunology.
We are especially interested in candidates whose research illuminates the dynamic biology of malignant cells, immune cells, tissue environments, host physiology, microbes, metabolism, and therapeutic intervention in cancer. Researchers in immune-related diseases, such as autoimmunity, infection biology, transplantation immunology, immune tolerance, and inflammation are also encouraged to apply.
Academic rank, track, tenure status, and compensation are dependent upon qualifications. Primary appointments will be in appropriate departments or units, most likely in the Biological Sciences Division, though potentially in the Physical Sciences Division, or the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, with possible secondary appointments in other relevant units depending on the candidates' research.
These positions are benefits eligible. The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.
Appointees will join a highly collaborative academic ecosystem in which outstanding basic science and clinical departments are co-located on a compact urban campus, with state-of-the-art core facilities, exceptional graduate and medical students, and opportunities to participate in multidisciplinary research, translation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship, including Hyde Park Labs, a new hybrid facility for academic research, science-based companies and the UChicago Science Incubator.
Research Priorities
The goal of this search is to recruit faculty who will deepen and expand the University of Chicago’s strengths in cancer biology, immunology, or immuno-oncology, while building new connections among basic scientists, clinicians, engineers, computational biologists, public health and translational investigators.
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Tumor microenvironment and cancer–immune ecology
- Cancer metabolism or immunometabolism
- T-cell, NK-cell, B-cell, and myeloid-cell biology
- Microbiome, virome, and host–microbe interactions
- Tissue immunity in inflammation and/or tumor biology
- Cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, dormancy, recurrence, and immune escape
- Aging and immunosenescence in cancer
- Neuroimmune regulation in cancer and immunity
- Spatial, systems, and computational cancer or immunology
- Single-cell, functional-genomic, proteomic, metabolomic, or imaging approaches to cancer and/or immunity
- Immune monitoring, biomarker discovery, and mechanisms of therapeutic response or resistance
- Vaccines, antigen discovery, antigen presentation, and immune recognition
- Engineered immunity, synthetic immunology, and cell-based therapies, including CAR, TCR, NK-cell, and gene-edited immune-cell platforms
- Antibody therapeutics, bispecifics, immune checkpoints, and other immune-modulating strategies
Candidates with programs oriented toward fundamental discovery, mechanistic cancer biology, immunology, or tumor ecology are encouraged to apply through this search.
Candidates whose work is primarily focused on drug discovery, therapeutic chemistry, biologics, platform development, or later-stage therapeutic translation may also wish to consider the Chemical Biology and Therapeutics search.
Selection Process
The initial phase of the search is led by a committee composed of faculty from multiple departments and divisions rather than by a single hiring department. This phase is designed to identify leading candidates across the breadth of the search area and to consider how their scholarship could contribute to, and be advanced by, the University’s scientific programs and intellectual environment. During an initial campus visit, candidates will meet faculty from multiple departments, institutes, and programs.
A follow-up visit will be organized by the departmental affiliation(s) best suited to support each candidate’s work and long-term success. Additional information about the selection principles and the broader division-wide recruitment strategy is available here: BSD Faculty Recruitment.
A Division-Wide Recruitment Initiative
This search is one of five coordinated, open-rank searches through which the Biological Sciences Division and UChicago Medicine, in collaboration with the Physical Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, are recruiting a cohort of exceptional faculty to expand the scale, disciplinary breadth, and human impact of biomedical research at UChicago. Candidates whose work spans more than one search area are encouraged to apply to multiple searches.
- Cancer Biology and Immunology (this ad)
- Chemical Biology and Therapeutics
- Translational Neuroscience
- AI-Enabled Biology and Medicine
- Physician-Scientists—All Health-Related Areas
Application
Prior to the start of employment, qualified applicants must have a PhD, MD, or equivalent.
To be considered, those interested must apply through The University of Chicago‚ Academic Recruitment job board, which uses Interfolio to accept applications: https://apply.interfolio.com/190755.
Applicants must upload:
- a cover letter
- CV including bibliography
- research statement
- teaching statement
- names and contact information for three references
Review of complete applications will start on September 30, 2026, and end when the positions are filled.
For instructions on the Interfolio application process, please visit http://tiny.cc/InterfolioHelp.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-834-3988 or email equalopportunity@uchicago.edu with their request.
The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.
