Assistant or Associate Professor of Phytopathology in Controlled and Space Environments

About the role

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is creating an environment that affirms community across all dimensions. The position will be based at the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC) in Apopka, Florida, which serves as a hub for research, teaching, and Extension programs supporting Florida’s ornamental, landscape, urban and controlled environment agriculture industries.

Responsibilities

• Develop a nationally and internationally recognized, extramurally funded, research and teaching program in specialty crops pathology in controlled environment structures (greenhouses, vertical farming, container farming, high tunnels, and screen/shade houses) and space environment, with emphasis on advancing knowledge of plant disease epidemiology.
• Collaborate with colleagues across Florida, nationally, and internationally to address unique challenges of managing plant health in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) that support human habitats in space, including those relevant to the International Space Station, lunar, and Martian missions.
• Conduct research on the effects of microgravity and extraterrestrial conditions on plant resistance mechanisms, pathogen virulence, and disease development.
• Investigate the aerobiology of globally dispersed plant pathogens as analogs for transport, persistence, and exposure risks on planetary surfaces and in closed habitats.
• Develop and implement advanced diagnostic tools and methodologies for the early detection, identification, and monitoring of plant pathogens in controlled environments and space habitats.
• Engage in scholarly activities related to instruction, including teaching graduate and undergraduate courses.
• Develop and deliver a plant pathology graduate level course Applied Epidemiology in Controlled and Space Environments (an updated version of PLP6404, 3 credits, online, asynchronous delivery with office hours, with an in-person bootcamp option for hands-on training; one offering per year).
• Teach an undergraduate section of the course.
• Develop a graduate course with an undergraduate section on Plant Health in Controlled and Space Environments (3 credits, online, asynchronous delivery with office hours, one offering per year).
• Support and participate in the CALS Honors Program, distance education, and international education.
• Publish research results in national and international refereed and non-refereed journals, present results at professional meetings, and collaborate with interdisciplinary faculty and industry partners to address emerging plant pathology challenges in closed and controlled environments.
• Participate actively in graduate education by chairing and serving on graduate committees, supervising thesis and dissertation research, and publishing research results with students.
• Engage in professional service, consistent with the IFAS land-grant mission.
• Seek contract and grant funding to support his/her program.
• Be affiliated with the UF’s Astraeus Space Institute, Emerging Pathogens Institute, and Global Food Systems Institute.

Requirements

• A doctorate (foreign equivalent acceptable) in Plant Pathology, Microbiology, Horticulture, Biology, or a closely related discipline is required.
• Candidates should have demonstrated skills in verbal and written communication, developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, publication in peer-reviewed journals, and procurement of extramural funding.
• Candidates must be supportive of the mission of the Land-Grant system and committed to UF core values.

Qualifications

• A strong record of publishing in refereed journals and demonstrated expertise in pathology are desirable.

Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships.
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals.
• Expertise in pathology.
• Experience in conducting research in controlled and space environment systems.
• Ability to develop and implement advanced diagnostic tools and methodologies.
• Experience in teaching graduate and undergraduate courses.
• Experience in developing and delivering specialized courses.
• Experience in collaborating with interdisciplinary faculty and industry partners.
• Experience in seeking and securing extramural funding.
• Experience in engaging in professional service and participating in graduate education.
• Experience in working in a space environment research setting.

Benefits

Commensurate with experience and education.

Pay

Commensurate with experience and education.

Schedule

12-month, tenure-accruing position that is 70% research (Florida Agricultural Experiment Station) and 30% teaching (College of Agricultural and Life Sciences) located at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center (MREC), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida, based in Apopka.