Associate Professor to Professor DOQ

The Opportunity

The University of Utah's Department of Oncological Sciences (Onc Sci), in conjunction with Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), invites applications for a visionary and mission‑driven leader to serve as a senior faculty member and Chief of the new Division of Cancer Data and Artificial Intelligence (CDAI).

HCI includes over 300 cancer‑focused research teams and has established outstanding programs in laboratory research, clinical cancer research, and cancer control and population sciences. It is the only NCI‑designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, has been rated in the “exceptional” range at its past two reviews, and serves five states—Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With over 1 million square feet dedicated to research and clinical care, HCI provides patient and prevention education to more than one million residents worldwide.

The new HCI center in Vineyard, Utah, supported by the state of Utah and extraordinary philanthropic contributions, will provide access to patients in central and southern Utah and foster collaborations with regional partners such as Utah Valley University (UVU), Brigham Young University (BYU), and technology companies on Silicon Slopes. It will implement HCI’s top clinical trial portfolio and house national cancer research leaders.

In its first phase, the campus will advance four key areas of focus:

• Health Care Transformation – redesigning cancer care delivery to improve access over distance, quality, efficiency, and patient experience.
• AI, Data Science & Digital Oncology – leveraging technology for innovative discovery research and for serving communities and patients through precision prevention and treatment.
• Innovation in Clinical Trials – providing state‑of‑the‑art oncology care and increasing access for rural and underserved populations.
• Community Outreach & Engagement – partnering with communities across the Mountain West to close gaps in prevention, screening, and survivorship.

These areas are designed to work in concert, creating a powerful ecosystem where innovations in one area fuel progress in others. Together, this synergy will enable Vineyard to pioneer new models that deliver a cancer‑free frontier across the Mountain West.

The CDAI Division supports HCI Vineyard’s second area of focus and will be central to the Department’s strategic focus on harnessing data science, machine learning, and AI to transform cancer research. The Division Chief will lead efforts to integrate computational oncology with basic and translational research and collaborate across the three other focus areas at both the Vineyard and Salt Lake City campuses.

• Define and execute the strategic vision for the CDAI Division, in collaboration with aligned leaders.
• Help recruit faculty to the CDAI Division and, if applicable, to the Vineyard campus.
• Build and manage transdisciplinary teams between the two campuses and across oncological sciences, bioinformatics, and computer science.
• Lead an innovative research program in AI‑driven cancer biology, diagnostics, and/or therapeutics.
• Provide mentorship for early‑career faculty in the CDAI Division and participate in education of the next generation of cancer data scientists.
• Foster collaborations with academic institutions (e.g., UVU, BYU) and Silicon Slopes tech partners.
• Secure extramural funding and oversee large‑scale research initiatives.
• Translate data science innovations into real‑world clinical applications.
• Represent the CDAI Division on national and international platforms.

• Associate or Full Professor with a PhD, MD, or equivalent in computational biology, data science, computer science, engineering, oncology, or related fields.
• Exceptional communication and team‑building skills.
• Proven leadership in AI or data science with healthcare research applications.
• Strong publication and funding record.

• Machine learning, generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and data integration.
• Oncology data types: molecular data (genetics, genomics, epigenomics, spatial omics, systems biology, molecular epidemiology), EHRs, imaging, digital health,…