Department/Organization
208131 - Family Internal & Rural Med FIRM
Rank
Associate/Full Professor
Position Summary
College Only Search - The Department of Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine (FIRM) in the College of Community Health Sciences seeks a Director of Research from among current College faculty. The Director leads research and scholarship in the Department with 0.50 FTE of administrative effort, reports to the Department Chair, and works closely with the College's Associate Dean for Research (ADR) and established CCHS Research Review Group processes. This is an administrative appointment held concurrently with the appointee's faculty appointment, for an initial three-year term renewable following review. Appointments to the faculty of The University of Alabama are based on the personnel requirements of the University’s academic programs and on the goal of achieving and maintaining excellence in its teaching, research, and service/academic citizenship activities.
Detailed Position Information
The Director's core work is to mentor faculty in research, support scholarly activity for residents, fellows, and medical students, coordinate and track departmental scholarship, and help faculty develop proposals for external funding. The role builds on College and University research resources rather than duplicating them. Responsibilities include:
• Develop a departmental research and scholarship plan with a small number of priorities, aligned with College research priorities in consultation with the ADR.
• Chair the Department Research Committee and serve on the Department Executive Leadership Team.
• Mentor faculty in research, with priority on early-career faculty and faculty preparing for promotion, and expand the pool of faculty mentors for resident, fellow, and student projects.
• Advise residency and fellowship program directors on scholarly activity and help programs meet ACGME scholarly activity expectations.
• Partner with clerkship directors on scholarly opportunities for medical students.
• Identify funding opportunities and support faculty proposal development in coordination with the ADR and through established CCHS Research Review Group processes.
• Help faculty and learners use College and University research resources, including IRB and pre- and post-award support.
• Maintain a departmental inventory of projects, proposals, awards, publications, and presentations, and prepare an annual research and scholarship report for the Department Chair.
The 0.50 FTE administrative effort covers these responsibilities. The appointee's remaining effort follows the existing faculty appointment and is set through the annual FTE review.
Minimum Qualifications
• Earned doctorate (PhD, MD, DO, DrPH, or equivalent) in a clinical, health, behavioral, or health-services discipline.
• Qualifications for appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor.
• Sustained record of peer-reviewed publication and scholarly dissemination, with evidence of both independent and collaborative scholarship.
• Demonstrated experience obtaining and managing extramural or competitive internal research funding as principal investigator or co-investigator.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring faculty, residents, fellows, or students in research or quality improvement, with evidence of completed and disseminated projects.
• Demonstrated leadership experience in an academic, clinical, or research setting, including leading teams, committees, or programs.
• Working knowledge of human subjects protection, IRB processes, research compliance, and the distinction between quality improvement and human subjects research.
• Effective written and oral communication skills and the ability to work across clinical, educational, and research missions in an academic health setting.
Preferred Qualifications
• Record as principal investigator on federally funded research. • Expertise in primary care, rural health, health services research, implementation science, community-engaged research, or quality improvement methodology. • Experience building research infrastructure, including research committees, mentoring programs, project tracking systems, or practice-based research networks. • Familiarity with ACGME scholarly activity requirements and graduate medical education accreditation processes. • Experience in a community-based, regional, or rural-serving academic medical setting. • Record of national service within relevant professional or research organizations.
Instructions and Required Materials for Application
Submit the following through the UA careers site: • Letter of interest, no more than two pages, describing how the applicant meets the minimum and preferred qualifications and the applicant's approach to the responsibilities of the position. • Current curriculum vitae. Applications will be evaluated against the published minimum and preferred qualifications. Questions about the position may be directed to Tamer Elsayed, MD
About the Division/College/School
The College of Community Health Sciences (CCHS) was founded in 1972 by William Willard, MD, author of the “Willard Report” and considered the “Father of Family Medicine,” with a mandate to train family physicians for Alabama, particularly its rural areas. The College also provides medical student education as the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus of the four-campus University of Alabama School of Medicine, based at UAB in Birmingham. The College’s mission focuses on improving the health of individuals and communities in Alabama and the region through leadership in medical education and primary care; the provision of high-quality, accessible health care services; and scholarship.
CCHS is sponsor of the UA Family Medicine Residency and seven fellowships for family physicians. The Residency, a 16-16-16 program now in its 45th year, is the second largest family medicine residency in the country. Of the more than 470 Residency graduates, 85% practice in the five-state area of the Southeast, with half in rural areas, and comprise 1 of 7 family physicians practicing in Alabama. Nearly 900 medical students have completed their clinical training at the College since 1974, entering Family Medicine and primary care careers at more than twice the national average.
The College’s nationally recognized Rural Pipeline Programs and the Institute for Rural Health Research, along with basic sciences, social sciences, and health professional faculty and resources on the UA campus and innumerable specialty and medical research faculty among the School of Medicine faculty, create a uniquely resource-rich environment for a medical educator. The College’s clinical enterprise also conducts 150,000 ambulatory visits and more than 10,000 admissions a year to a broad patient population, including UA faculty and staff and the general population of West Alabama.
For more information about the College, visit http://cchs.ua.edu
About the University
The University of Alabama, the Capstone, is the state of Alabama’s flagship public university and its oldest and largest public university, founded in 1831. UA is an R1 institution in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, the top tier of doctoral research universities. UA enrolls a record 42,431 students from all 67 Alabama counties, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 95 countries. In fall 2026, Graduate School enrollment reached 6,484 students.
University of Alabama students continue to win prestigious national awards. Sixty-nine UA students have been named Goldwater scholars, including three for 2026-27. The University of Alabama has produced 17 Rhodes scholars, 16 Truman scholars, 43 Hollings scholars and 21 Boren scholars. The Fulbright Program selected 10 UA students for awards for the 2026-27 academic year. UA was named a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Students, a distinction it has now earned nine times in the last 11 years.
UA appeared on 15 U.S. News & World Report lists ranking the Best Online Programs, including seven programs ranked in the top 10 of their respective lists. UA made Time magazine’s list of Best Colleges for Future Leaders 2026. Forty current UA faculty members have received National Science Foundation CAREER Awards, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions of top-performing young scientists, in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences.
UA made Forbes’ 2026 lists of America’s Top Colleges and Best Employers for Company Culture. According to the UA Center for Business and Economic Research, UA’s total statewide economic impact is $3.4 billion and 15,238 jobs.
Background Investigation and EEO Statement
Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.
Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to any legally protected basis and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. More information is available in the EEOC’s Know Your Rights: Workplace (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf) discrimination is illegal poster.
The University of Alabama affirms its longstanding commitment to institutional neutrality, free speech, and academic freedom.
