Join the HSCRB Faculty

Dear faculty candidates,

Thank you for your interest in Harvard’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (HSCRB)!  Established in 2007, HSCRB’s mission is to improve human health by bridging fundamental research, medical translation, and life science entrepreneurship. Research in HSCRB spans biology at the level of molecules, cells, tissues, organs and organisms, from the moment of conception through aging, and in both normal physiology and disease. We use a multitude of animal models, including zebrafish, mice, and axolotl, as well as human pluripotent cells and next-generation human organoids that allow the study of otherwise inaccessible aspects of human development and pathophysiology. We also design and deploy novel technologies to intentionally control cell fate in development and during regeneration and to interrogate these processes across time and space. We are committed to transforming medicine by cultivating a deeper knowledge of stem cell and regenerative biology and training the next generation of researchers, teachers and entrepreneurs to explore new frontiers in biomedical science.

HSCRB is a unique academic department founded as a joint endeavor between Harvard Medical School (HMS), based in the Longwood Medical Area, and Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, based on the university’s main campus. Our faculty host laboratories on both campuses, as well as within some of the nation’s top hospitals, including Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Our 20 faculty members (consisting of 14 senior faculty and 6 junior faculty) collaborate across sectors with industry researchers, discovery scientists and business innovators in a broad range of settings. These strong relationships and the prime locations of our faculty within Boston’s burgeoning biomedical ecosystem offer researchers unrivaled opportunities to pursue innovative approaches and meaningful collaborations across disciplines, always with the goal of translating discoveries into solutions.

Teaching is also central to HSCRB’s mission, and our unique undergraduate and graduate curricula are both a priority and a point of pride within the department. HSCRB’s Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology (HDRB) concentration for undergraduates is one of the most rigorous concentrations at the university, placing a heavy emphasis on hands-on research. We also lead the Developmental and Regenerative Biology (DRB) track of the HMS-based PhD Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), which specifically recruits and supports students with an interest in stem cells, regeneration and developmental biology through innovative coursework and scientific and social events. Finally, three years ago we launched a new educational collaboration with Harvard Business School – a two-year joint MS/MBA degree program in Biotechnology: Life Sciences. This one-of-a-kind program is aimed at training a diverse and socially responsible cadre of leaders prepared to confront the broadest and most consequential issues at the interface of biology and society. All HSCRB faculty participate in the department’s distinctive teaching mission, including designing and leading at least one original course within these curricular foci.

We see the scientific and intellectual exploration in which HSCRB engages as a service to humankind, and diversity of discipline, background, and perspective as essential to its success. We offer an inclusive and supportive research and teaching environment that values community, mentorship and personal growth along with discovery and innovation. We invite applicants with a wide range of experiences and interests to apply to join our faculty and will personally meet with every candidate invited to interview to orient them to HSCRB and help them prepare to get the most from their visit.

Thank you again for your interest and we look forward to reviewing your applications.

Warmly,
Paola Arlotta and Amy Wagers
HSCRB Co-Chairs

September 24: Application deadline

Mid-to-late October: The search committee will reach out to candidates to schedule Zoom interviews for further discussion

Mid-to-late November: The search committee will reach out to candidates with requests for an in-person interview

January and early February 2024: In-person interviews consisting of a seminar, chalk talk, meetings with faculty and trainees and tours of the department.

Our department has broad interests ranging from gene therapy to limb regeneration to computational tool development. Current topics of HSCRB labs include:

• Understanding brain development and disease: from embryos to organoids
• Inventing genomic technologies and using them to understand the regulation of genes
• How blood stem cells develop and function
• Genomic tools for understanding the rules of tissue organization
• The heart-brain conversation
• Cell surface glycoRNA biology
• The immune system in tissue repair
• Local and systemic regulation of skin stem cells
• Biomarker identification for schizophrenia spectrum disorders
• Heart regeneration and cardiac aging
• Molecular development, neuronal diversity, disease, and regeneration of cerebral cortex
• Regeneration in the uterus
• Evolutionary dynamics of cancers and their responses to therapy
• Learning the rules of development through building
• Rejuvenating the aging brain
• Blood and the microenvironments that govern it
• Stem cell aging and in vivo gene therapy
• Limb regeneration
• Developmental biology of hematopoiesis

Join us for a Q&A with some of our junior faculty about the search process and life in HSCRB on September 11th 3:00-4:00 PM ET.

My lab looks to understand how cells acquire and reverse epigenetic changes and how these changes lead to disease. To do this, we are developing new approaches for measuring gene regulation dynamics at single-cell resolution.

My lab is interested in studying how tissues are built using new tools we are developing. We focus on spatial genomics, which involves looking at molecules like RNA and DNA inside cells, to understand the spatial organization of genes and their interactions within cells, tissues, and organs.

My lab is focused on the exploration and discovery of how biopolymers like RNA and glycans work together to control cellular processes in the context of human disease.

My lab addresses questions at the intersection of immunology and regenerative biology, including the role of immune cells in tissue building and rebuilding in the context of injury, infection, and cancer.

My lab studies the uterus to advance reproductive health and address the longstanding unmet needs of hundreds of millions of patients around the world with infertility, endometriosis, adenomyosis, endometrial cancers, and abnormal uterine bleeding.

My lab is exploring the basic biology of limb regeneration in salamanders with the hope that understanding how this process occurs in animals will provide information critical for designing efforts to stimulate regeneration in humans.

Regarding life at HSCRB and Harvard

Regarding the application

1. Cover letter
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Research statement. 3 pages, single spaced. Figures are included in the page limit but references can be on a separate page. The research statement should outline the candidate’s long-term vision for research in their future laboratory with an emphasis on bold projects that have potential for substantial impact. The research statement should also summarize the candidate’s prior work as evidence for their potential to execute their vision.
4. Teaching/advising statement. 1-2 pages, single spaced. The teaching statement should outline prior teaching experience, if any, and how the candidate envisions that they will approach undergraduate teaching. New faculty in HSCRB often design new courses related to their expertise with the assistance of the education team. Existing courses in the department are viewable at my.harvard.edu (search: SCRB and look at 100 and 200-level classes).
5. Statement describing efforts to encourage diversity, inclusion, and belonging, including past, current, and anticipated future contributions in these areas. 1-2 pages, single spaced.
6. Candidates for a tenure-track position are also required to submit names and contact information of 3-5 referees, who will be asked by a system-generated email to upload a letter of recommendation once the candidate’s application has been submitted. Three letters of recommendation are required, and the application is considered complete only when at least three letters have been received. For candidates for a tenure-track position, at least one letter must come from someone who has not served as the candidate’s undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral advisor.