About The University of Texas at El Paso:
THE PROGRAM: The Regents' Research Excellence Program is the largest state-funded research program in UTEP history. This program provides support for strategic faculty hires intended to provide dedicated salary support for research-intensive faculty, offering them a platform to build nationally competitive research directions at UTEP. The Department of Physical Therapy & Movement Sciences was awarded this position to advance research at the intersections of trauma, neuroinflammation, and human neuroplasticity, building on existing infrastructure and national collaborations in these areas.
THE DEPARTMENT: Departmental research strengths include neuroplasticity, vascular physiology, inflammation, and clinical trials in stroke rehabilitation, pain, and trauma, supported by established laboratory facilities, clinical partnerships, and access to diverse human populations. The new hire will contribute to these efforts while collaborating across the College of Health Sciences and related disciplines.
THE COLLEGE: The College of Health Sciences prepares the next generation of health and human service professionals to improve quality of life and address health disparities in their communities. The College offers five undergraduate degrees in Clinical Lab Science, Health Promotion, Rehabilitation Sciences, Social Work, and Kinesiology. There are four master's degrees in the college: Speech-Language Pathology, Public Health, Social Work, and Kinesiology. There are currently three doctoral programs in the College: Doctor of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy Doctorate, and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. High impact educational experiences enable students to develop leadership, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, as well as a strong sense of social responsibility through community and global engagement opportunities.
Faculty and students engage in teaching, research, and service incorporating Boyer's Model of the scholarship of discovery, integration, application/engagement, and teaching and learning, all related to the applied health sciences (https://www.utep.edu/chs/ ). The College's facilities and programs are designed to promote interprofessional teaching, learning, research and community & global engagement initiatives. The College enjoys a strong and collaborative relationship with a range of local, national and global community partners. Graduate and undergraduate students participate actively with faculty clinical and research mentors in conducting a variety of projects relevant to addressing health disparities and improving quality of life in the Paso del Norte region and beyond.
THE UNIVERSITY AND EL PASO: The University of Texas at El Paso is a Carnegie R1 and Community Engaged university at the heart of the U.S.-Mexico border region that is increasing access to excellent higher education. UTEP enrolls more than 26,000 students, and more than half of undergraduates are the first generation in their families to attend college.
The city's border location makes it an ideal venue for academic programs and research studies on topics of national interest such as bilingual education/language acquisition, border environment and immigration, environmental sustainability and infrastructure, health disparities, and international trade and commerce. The Paso del Norte region's center for intellectual capital, UTEP is one of the major economic engines in the region, adding more than $1.4 billion to the local economy annually.
El Paso's active arts and culture community features the state's longest-running symphony orchestra, a nationally recognized chamber music festival, art galleries, museums, and a full schedule of seasonal events and festivals. UTEP adds to the arts and entertainment scene with an award-winning dinner theater, music and dance productions, contemporary and student art galleries, and a natural history museum.
For sports fans, the UTEP Miners offer exciting Division I college athletics at several campus venues including Sun Bowl Stadium, the Don Haskins Center, Kidd Field, University Field, and the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. Southwest University Park, located a mile away in lively downtown El Paso, is home to the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, and the El Paso Locomotive, a professional soccer team founded in 2019.
Job Description:
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) College of Health Sciences invites applications for a full-time Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy & Movement Sciences. This is a 12-month appointment with three years of guaranteed salary support, designed to be part of an interdisciplinary research program focused on trauma-induced neuroinflammation and maladaptive neuroplasticity.
The successful candidate will contribute to mechanistic and translational studies examining how physical and psychological trauma (e.g., traumatic brain injury, vascular insults, chronic stress, PTSD) initiate inflammatory cascades that disrupt adaptive brain plasticity. Applicants with expertise in human-subjects research related to trauma, neurophysiology, neuroinflammation, neuroimaging, and/or neuromodulation are encouraged to apply. Candidates with complementary strengths in cellular and molecular models of neuroinflammation, including cell culture systems, in vitro screening of small molecules, and toxicity studies, are also encouraged particularly where such approaches inform human-relevant translation.
The position is embedded within externally funded research programs in the laboratories of Drs. Shashwati Geed and Alvaro N. Gurovich, with collaborative engagement across trauma-, vascular-, and behavior-focused investigators. The candidate will work in an established translational research environment integrating biological markers, neurophysiological measures, and functional outcomes, supported by active collaborations with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for multi-omic analyses (e.g., transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic profiling) and access to advanced computational infrastructure.
Job responsibilities focus primarily on scholarly activity (e.g., grant writing, manuscript publications, and conference presentations), with an anticipated appointment date in Spring 2026. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a productive research agenda, thrive in a collaborative interdisciplinary setting, and engage with research addressing trauma and health disparities in the border region and beyond.
This position represents an opportunity to build on established and nationally competitive research programs while contributing to the development of new initiatives in trauma, inflammation, and neuroplasticity at UTEP. Unlike traditional soft-money research positions, this role provides immediate access to funding infrastructure, laboratory space, personnel, patient populations, and established external collaborations within pre-existing resources via the Geed and Gurovich laboratories, enabling productivity in publications and grant submissions from the outset. The hire is expected to co-lead multi-PI grant applications and contribute to the development of larger collaborative initiatives targeting NIH, DoD, VA, and NIDILRR funding mechanisms.
Requirements:
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates are required to have:
Preferred qualifications include:
Additional Information:
SALARY/BENEFITS: The initial salary is negotiable and based on qualifications and experience. The position includes three years of guaranteed salary support, access to established research laboratories and collaborative infrastructure, and excellent fringe benefits.
In keeping with its access, excellence, and impact mission, The University of Texas at El Paso is committed to an open, diverse, and inclusive learning and working environment that honors the talents, respects the differences, and nurtures the growth and development of all. We seek to attract faculty and staff who share our commitment.
The University of Texas at El Paso is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or sexual orientation and gender in employment or the provision of services in accordance with state and federal law. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes an employee's or prospective employee's right to be free from sexual harassment under Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972. Inquiries-including the filing of a Formal Complaint or reporting an incident-about the application of Title IX may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, who can be reached by phone at (915) 747-8358, by email at titleix@utep.edu , or by mail at 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX, Kelly Hall, Room 312.
For accommodation information for employees and applicants with disabilities, please contact UTEP's Equal Opportunity Office at eoaa@utep.edu .
To the extent that this position involves research, work, or access to critical infrastructure as referenced in Executive Order GA-48, being hired for and continuing to be employed in this position requires the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the infrastructure.
Application Instructions:
Review of applications will begin immediately, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Candidates must submit the following: (1) cover letter addressing how candidate meets each required qualification, and any applicable preferred qualifications; (2) curriculum vitae; (3) abbreviated research plan (2 pages or less); (4) copies of up to three first-authored or co-authored peer-reviewed publications relevant to current scholarly/research agenda; and (5) complete contact information for at least three references. Applicants will be notified before references are contacted.
For more information about the position, contact:
Dr. Alvaro N Gurovich, Search Committee Chair
Chair Department of Rehabilitation Sciences
agurovich@utep.edu