Assistant or Associate Professor of Pharmacometrics or Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences

The University of Southern California (USC) Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences invites applications for a tenured/tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor in the field of Pharmacometrics or Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences. This position is appointed within the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy and offers an exciting opportunity to advance the application of in silico modeling techniques and AI technologies in healthcare and pharmacy through innovative interdisciplinary and translational research and teaching.

The ideal pharmacometrics candidate will have expertise in either multiscale mechanistic modeling, quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP), physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling (PBPK), pharmacometrics, and their integration in interdisciplinary basic and translational research for drug development and treatment. 

The ideal data science candidate will contribute to shaping the future of AI in healthcare optimization, clinical decision support, pharmacogenomics, bioinformatics, and personalized medicine.

Academic rank will be determined by seasoned experience and demonstrated leadership and expertise.

As a faculty member, service to the school through active participation is expected.  Routine faculty administration and participation duties, such as attendance at departmental and full faculty meetings and committee service, as well as annual review submissions and peer-to-peer teaching evaluations are expected. The faculty member should also contribute to the growth of the profession through service on a national level. Inclusive teaching methods and expert use of pedagogical techniques and technologies is expected. 

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct high-impact, externally funded research at the intersection of AI and pharmacy practice or pharmaceutical sciences, leveraging methodologies such as natural language processing (NLP), neural networks, and federated learning, contributing to advancements in areas such as:
  • Machine learning and predictive modeling for evaluating impact of treatment on disease progression.
  • Large language models (LLMs) for education and clinical support, such as enhancing medication counseling through AI-driven conversational agents or optimizing clinical documentation workflows.
  • Data science and AI applications in pharmacogenomics, bioinformatics, and personalized medicine.
• Develop and teach undergraduate, graduate, and professional-level courses in AI applications related to pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, such as courses on machine learning algorithms for pharmacokinetic modeling or AI-driven clinical decision systems, while mentoring students and trainees across all levels.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration across USC schools, such as the Viterbi School of Engineering, Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics.
• Engage in faculty citizenship and service to the university, profession, and community, including leadership roles in initiatives that promote scholarship or AI innovation and implementation in healthcare.

Qualifications

• PharmD, PhD, or PharmD/PhD degrees in a relevant field is required.
• A strong track record of scholarly research and publications in mathematical applications and quantitative modeling approaches or AI-related applications in scholarly areas of pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences.
• Experience with or demonstrated potential for securing extramural funding for innovative research.
• Expertise in:
  • Pharmacometrics, application of machine learning in pharmacometrics, mechanism-based modeling, QSP or PBPK, and/or;
  • AI technologies, including but not limited to machine learning (e.g., supervised and unsupervised learning), large language models, advanced data science techniques (e.g., dimensionality reduction, clustering), and predictive analytics.
• Track record of successful teaching and mentoring of professional program and/or graduate students, including curriculum development, lecturing, and course coordination, with a preference for experience in teaching applied mathematical and AI-related topics such as computational pharmacology, health informatics, or applications of machine learning in pharmacometrics.
• Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines within a university setting to drive translational research and innovation.

Compensation and Benefits

The University of Southern California offers a competitive salary within an academic environment based on the candidate’s experience, accomplishments, and continuous funding sources. The University also offers excellent benefits to qualified employees, which include: health, dental and life insurance; tuition assistance; disability and retirement plans; credit union membership; and participation in cultural and social events, as well as access to athletic and recreational facilities.

Merit review is conducted annually from which salary enhancements are decided. Re-appointment and eventual promotion are expectations based on performance assessment and longitudinally via administrative review. A tenure decision date is assigned with the initial offer letter, and the faculty candidate is expected to successfully accomplish goals toward promotion as examined annually and through interim review during the probationary period leading up to the tenure decision date. Full evaluation by the School of the compiled dossier of research, teaching and service accomplishments is performed prior to submission to the University Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure.

The annual base salary range for this position is $140,000 - $170,000. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

Application Procedure

The position is available immediately. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled. Qualified individuals are requested to apply online at https://usccareers.usc.edu, and are requested to upload a current curriculum vitae, a letter of intent/personal statement, a description of his/her research and experience relevant to the position, and a list of the names and current contact information for three to five individuals who will serve as professional references.

The University of Southern California is actively committed to equal opportunity faculty hiring practices.

The USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is located on the USC Health Sciences Campus, which includes the Keck Hospital of USC, the Norris Cancer Hospital, and Los Angeles County General Medical Center. The School also operates 5 hospital and specialty pharmacies serving the needs of the community, faculty and staff. Ranked by US News and World Report as the #1 private pharmacy school in the United States, USC Mann is recognized for its more than century-long reputation for innovation in pharmaceutical education, practice and research. The School uniquely spans the entire spectrum of pharmaceutical development to clinical care – from drug discovery to regulatory approaches that promote safety and innovation, and from delivery of contemporary patient care services to evaluating the impact of care on patient outcomes and costs. Collaborative efforts with our expertise areas and faculty in clinical pharmacy, pharmacoeconomics and health policy, pharmacoepidemiology, drug discovery, experimental therapeutics, and pharmaceutical sciences are manifest in the numerous MS and PhD programs across these disciplines. The School received a $50 million endowment from the Alfred E. Mann Foundation to name the School and to support student scholarships, faculty development and recruitment, and integrated biomedical innovation.

Qualifications • PharmD, PhD, or PharmD/PhD degrees in a relevant field is required. • A strong track record of scholarly research and publications in mathematical applications and quantitative modeling approaches or AI-related applications in scholarly areas of pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences. • Experience with or demonstrated potential for securing extramural funding for innovative research. • Expertise in: o Pharmacometrics, application of machine learning in pharmacometrics, mechanism-based modeling, QSP or PBPK, and/or; o AI technologies, including but not limited to machine learning (e.g., supervised and unsupervised learning), large language models, advanced data science techniques (e.g., dimensionality reduction, clustering), and predictive analytics. • Track record of successful teaching and mentoring of professional program and/or graduate students, including curriculum development, lecturing, and course coordination, with a preference for experience in teaching applied mathematical and AI-related topics such as computational pharmacology, health informatics, or applications of machine learning in pharmacometrics. • Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines within a university setting to drive translational research and innovation.