Assistant Professor Or Associate Professor - Advanced Nutrigenomics Of Bioactive Phytochemicals

The NC State University Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) is an established Institute located on the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis, NC. The NC Research Campus was created to have all aspects of human health and nutrition in one place complimented by multiple state and private entities providing academic and research resources. The PHHI currently houses researchers and staff from various departments, including the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, Horticulture Science, Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, Plant and Microbial Sciences, Animal Science, Cooperative Extension, and NCARS.

The Plants for Human Health Institute includes faculty from five departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and has a particular research focus on flavonoids/carotenoids and their metabolites from fruits and vegetables, but other phytoactive constituents may also be emphasized in this position. Relevant research focus includes, but is not limited to, diet/gene interactions; the influence of diet on susceptibility or resistance to human chronic disease, dietary interventions used to mitigate disease or food allergy incidence; and epigenetic impacts on host physiology, health outcomes, or aging.

Essential Job Duties

The Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) is seeking applicants to conduct research in genomics of extra-nutritional phytoactive compounds, (e.g. bioactive chemical compounds present in plant-based foods) with a focus on the modulating effects of these dietary bioactive constituents on human/animal gene activation and expression. The successful candidate will develop a transdisciplinary research program to investigate how bioactive phytochemicals and their interacting, potentiating mixtures modify gene expression, and lead to synthesis of specific health-relevant proteins/compounds/targets that benefit human health and wellness.

Research may examine how dietary bioactives influence human genes, and how genetic variability conditions human response to dietary phytochemical constituents. Candidates are expected to conduct research in areas such as metabolic phenotyping, metagenomic technologies to analyze associations between diet and health status, genomics and gene expression, and/or the potential of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI-ML) to link precision agriculture to precision nutrition.

The incumbent will interface with a complementary team of faculty to explore hypothesis-driven studies targeting specific phytochemical-human metabolic and phytochemical-human disease pathways.

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This position will be located in Kannapolis, NC.

Other Responsibilities

Qualifications

Minimum Education and Experience

• PhD in Food Sciences, Nutrition, Genomics, Metabolomics emphasis in chemistry/phytochemistry, gene activation, etc.

Other Required Qualifications

• Expertise in genomics of bioactive, extra-nutritional phytochemical compounds (phytoactives) focusing on the modulating effects of dietary bioactive constituents on human/animal gene activation and expression

• Expertise in gene modulation; characterization of gene activation and subsequent expression by identification of transcription factors and mRNA

• Experience in metabolic phenotyping and metagenomic techniques

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong expertise in advanced computation and systems biology approaches applied to human-dietary phytochemical interaction is highly desired

• Familiarity with dietary bioactives/extra-nutritional phytochemicals and their effects on human health

• Experience with AI-ML to link precision agriculture to precision nutrition

• Post Doctoral Experience

• Work experience in a collaborative research environment

• Supervisory skills

• Research experience relevant to human health

Required License(s) or Certification(s)

NA

Valid NC Driver's License required No Commercial Driver's License required No