Job Description

At the University of British Columbia (UBC), we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff, and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

The Departments of Surgery and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC Vancouver campus are recruiting an outstanding researcher to be nominated for the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Regenerative Medicine and Diabetes. The CERC program, Canada’s highest research chair appointment, is designed to attract and support world-renowned researchers and their teams to Canada.

It is expected that the successful candidate will qualify for a full-time appointment at the rank of Professor or Associate Professor who is expected to be promoted to full professor within one or two years of the nomination.  Nominees from outside the academic sector must possess the qualifications necessary to be appointed at these levels.

Program nominees are not restricted by their nationality or their country of residence.  Non-Canadian Chairholders may work in Canada under the procedures by Employment and Social Development Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In some cases, a work permit may be expedited.

The UBC Department of Surgery has training programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels and pursues research to make innovative advancements in knowledge and practice to improve health. The Department consists of more than 700 physicians and scientists as well as over 60 administrative, research, and technical staff. Specialty training programs are offered in Cardiac Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology, Pediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Radiation Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Thoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery.

The UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is a research-intensive, interdisciplinary, and collaborative department that counts over 45 academic faculty with $44 million in annual research funding. The department has over 300 clinical faculty distributed across all the clinical laboratories within the province. The Department hosts the undergraduate Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science Program, a Graduate Program, and five Residency Training Programs in Diagnostic & Molecular Pathology, Medical Biochemistry, Hematopathology, Medical Microbiology, and Neuropathology, as well as two Area of Focused Competence Programs in Transfusion Medicine, and Pediatric & Perinatal Pathology.

The incumbent will have access to research relationships at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and join a highly collaborative and world-leading diabetes research community in the domains of pancreatic islet transplantation and biology, incretin hormones and therapies, stem cells, and immune engineering. UBC is home to one of five Breakthrough Type 1 Diabetes Centres of Excellence worldwide.

Reporting jointly to the Head of the UBC Department of Surgery and the Head of the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the successful candidate will be expected to lead a research program in identifying and targeting pathways involved in pancreatic beta cell development, dysfunction, regeneration and/or replacement, with the goal of developing and translating novel therapies for diabetes prevention and/or treatment. As the Chairholder, the individual will be expected to bring new research capacity and expertise in state-of-the-art approaches that leverage technological advances such as genome manipulation, lipid nanoparticle-based therapies, targeted drug delivery systems and beyond. Areas of research for the Chairholder could include genomics, RNA biology, pancreas development, islet biology, stem cells, regenerative medicine, autoimmunity/autoinflammation, all in the context of diabetes. The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the teaching activities of the Departments of Surgery and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, as well as provide mentorship and training to undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate learners. The incumbent will also be expected to provide service to the University and the broader academic and professional community. They will work collaboratively in diverse groups to bring forward strategic initiatives for the Departments of Surgery and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, BC Children’s Research, and the Faculty of Medicine.

The UBC requires that the successful candidate must hold a MD, PhD or equivalent.

At the rank of Associate Professor: The successful candidate will have national recognition and be in the initial stages of gaining international recognition in the areas of Regenerative Medicine and Diabetes. They will have demonstrated evidence of successful teaching and ability to direct graduate students and be willing to participate in the affairs of the two Departments, the Faculty of Medicine and the University.

At the rank of Professor: The successful candidate will be an internationally recognized leader in the areas of Regenerative Medicine and Diabetes.  They will have demonstrated creativity, collaboration and innovation in teaching and participated significantly in academic and professional affairs.

In addition, the successful candidate will demonstrate a willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own, and a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The selected candidate will be nominated for a Canada Excellence Research Chair. This CERC award, if successful, will be for $1 million per year for eight years. The CERC nomination is subject to review and final approval by the CERC Secretariat.  

The expected salary for this position is $190,000–$210,000/year for the rank of Associate Professor and $220,000–$260,000/year for the rank of Professor. The Faculty of Medicine is committed to offering equitable and competitive salaries, commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate. At UBC, in addition to a generous benefits package and highly valued pension plan, faculty members also have access to a comprehensive range of leaves, services, resources and career development opportunities. For more information, please visit: .

UBC hires based on merit and is committed to employment equity. Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. Inclusion is built through individual and institutional responsibility, achieved by continuous engagement with diversity, to inspire people, ideas, and actions for a better world.

We invite applications from qualified candidates who share our commitment to employment equity and inclusive excellence, and we encourage applications from candidates belonging to individuals from all underrepresented, equity-seeking, rights-seeking populations, including racialized individuals, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, women, and individuals from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and trans and non-binary people. We also encourage applicants for the CERC position to complete the equity survey ()  in alignment with the institution's commitment to creating an equitable and diverse environment that fosters academic excellence. Personal information is collected under the authority of sections 26(a), 26(c), and 26(e) of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The Equity & Inclusion Office will collect data, and all responses will be stored in a secure database. The information collected will be for program-level reporting.

An application package should include: 

A cover letter (1 page) The main application, containing the following sections:

Research program proposal (5 pages, including citations)

Teaching and mentorship statement (1 page)

Equity, diversity, and inclusion statement of the applicant’s current or planned contributions to advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in academic, professional, or community contexts (1 page)

A full curriculum vitae (no page limit)

The names of four arm’s length references.

Applications should be submitted to:

Karen Larsen

Human Resources Manager

UBC Department of Surgery

Subject: CERC Application

Email: karen.larsen@ubc.ca

Should you have any queries about this position, please contact the Human Resources Manager at karen.larsen@ubc.ca .

In assessing applications, UBC recognizes the legitimate impact that leaves (e.g., maternity leave, parental leave, leaves due to illness, leaves due to caring for family members, slowdowns due to chronic illness or disability, or COVID-19 impacts) can have on research achievement and commits to ensuring that leaves are taken into careful consideration. Candidates are encouraged to highlight in their application how interruptions have had an impact on their careers.

Review of applications will begin on August  14, 2025, and continue until the position is filled. The successful applicant will be required to prepare a CERC Registration package by January 12, 2026, and a complete application package by UBC’s internal deadline of March 1, 2026. The earliest anticipated start date for this position is April 1, 2027, or upon a later date to be mutually agreed in writing and will ultimately depend on the CERC award date. This offer of employment is contingent upon the successful application and receipt of the applicable CERC award.

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and equitable work environment for all members of its workforce. An inclusive work environment presumes an environment where differences are appreciated, recognized, and integrated into current structures, planning, and decision-making modes. Within this hiring process, we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable process for all candidates (including but not limited to people with disabilities). Confidential accommodations are available on request. Please contact Karen Larsen via email at karen.larsen@ubc.ca. If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Centre for Workplace Accessibility website at or contact the Centre at workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca .

With gratitude, we acknowledge that the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and its distributed programs, which include four university academic campuses, are located on traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of First Nations Peoples and communities around the province.

Our Vision: To Transform Health for Everyone.

Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care professionals, making remarkable discoveries, and helping to create the pathways to better health for our communities at home and around the world.

The Faculty - comprised of approximately 2,200 administrative support, technical/research and management and professional staff, as well approximately 600 full-time academic and over 12,000 clinical faculty members - is composed of 19 academic basic science and/or clinical departments, three schools, and 24 research centres and institutes. Together with its University and Health Authority partners, the Faculty delivers innovative programs and conducts research in the areas of health and life sciences. Faculty, staff and trainees are located at university campuses, clinical academic campuses in hospital settings and other regionally based centres across the province.

UBC - One of the World's Leading Universities. As one of the world's leading universities, the University of British Columbia creates an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada and the world.

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