Associate Professor/Professor and Director - Biomedical Imaging Center

About the Opportunity

About Northeastern:

Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experience-driven lifelong learning. Our world-renowned experiential approach empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create impact far beyond the confines of discipline, degree, and campus.

Our locations—in Arlington; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; London; Miami; New York City; Oakland; Portland, Maine; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Toronto; Vancouver; and the Massachusetts communities of Burlington and Nahant—are nodes in our growing global university system. Through this network, we expand opportunities for flexible, student-centered learning and collaborative, solutions-focused research.

Northeastern’s comprehensive array of undergraduate and graduate programs— in a variety of on-campus and online formats—lead to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools. Among these, we offer more than 195 multi-discipline majors and degrees designed to prepare students for purposeful lives and careers.

The Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health (CBH) is a collaborative research community with faculty from the College of Science, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, College of Arts, Music, and Design, and the College of Engineering. It brings together a unique combination of disciplines, including neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience, developmental and lifespan sciences, movement sciences, music and the art, communication sciences and disorders, and cognitive training. CBH is also home to the Northeastern University Biomedical Imaging Center (NUBIC), which houses our Siemens Prisma 3T MRI. 

CBH harnesses neuroimaging, behavioral, and computational studies to understand how lifestyle choices and behaviors influence brain activity, structure, cognitive function and mental health across the lifespan. Through interdisciplinary research investigating factors such as physical activity, diet and nutrition, cognitive training, and creative activity (artistic engagement, including music, dance, and the arts), the Institute investigates mechanisms of brain health to maximize well-being and promote effective functioning from infancy through older adulthood. The Institute serves as a hub for multiple research labs and brings together expertise from psychology, neuroscience, physical therapy, music and the arts, and other disciplines to address critical challenges in cognitive development and healthy aging. NUBIC stands at the center of the CBH and the greater Northeastern human neuroimaging community, as a key tool in our scientific discovery.

About the Opportunity:

The College of Science at Northeastern University invites applications for an Associate or Full Professor in the Department of Psychology  serving as Director for the Northeastern University Biomedical Imaging Center (NUBIC) within the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health (https://cbh.northeastern.edu/)  in the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex at Northeastern University (https://www.northeastern.edu/isec/). Applicants for this position must have an internationally recognized, well-funded program of research. We seek a Director with expertise conducting human MRI/fMRI research in one of the following disciplines: psychological science, developmental science, cognitive science, neuroscience, medical physics, biological science, biomedical engineering, biomedical science, radiology, or health science. Of key importance is leadership in building a user-base of scientists engaged in functional, diffusion, spectroscopy, and structural MRI research. Expertise in working with a range of interdisciplinary groups is strongly desired.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the Department of Psychology in the College of Science as well as other appropriate departments (e.g. Health Sciences, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bioengineering) based upon her/his research program. The successful candidate will be expected to bring vision and energy to developing the NUBIC, coordinating and managing all aspects of the MRI imaging functions, and providing scientific training to MRI users regarding data acquisition, processing and analysis. Support staff, including an experienced technical director and MRI technician, will report directly to the Director. The Director will have her/his office and shared research space in the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health. The Siemens Prisma 3T MR suite is equipped with state-of-the-art MR-compatible visual and auditory stimulation equipment, eye-tracking, response devices, and physiological measurement hardware.

The College of Science comprises six departments: Psychology, Biology, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Marine and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics. Cross-disciplinary research programs and appointments are strongly encouraged within the College, and across the University.

The Department of Psychology is strongly interdisciplinary, with 31 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 25 non-tenure-track teaching faculty, and 5 additional faculty with joint appointments in Music, Computer Sciences, Political Science and Communication Sciences and Disorders. In addition to internationally recognized efforts in psychological, cognitive and brain health with a focus on translational and intervention investigation, research in the Department of Psychology spans numerous other disciplines that are central to human health and wellbeing across the lifespan, including developmental and aging neuroscience, brain-body interactions, animal models, language processing, reasoning, social cognition, visual processing and impairment. The Department of Psychology administers or co-administers programs in Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience for over 2,000 undergraduates, and it trains 60 students in PhDs programs. Under new leadership, the College of Science, and the Department of Psychology are in a vibrant expansion phase.

Northeastern is home to the Coastal Sustainability Institute, the Global Resilience Institute, the Barnett Institute for Chemical and Biological Analysis, the Center for Drug Discovery, the Institute for Chemical Imaging of Living Systems, the Network Science Institute, the Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology, an NSF Frontier Center in Theoretical Biological Physics, and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Complex Systems, providing a rich multidisciplinary intellectual environment.

Northeastern University is a global university system. Opportunities to collaborate extend beyond the University.

Our tenure and promotion process values collaborative research and teamwork. Hires will be mentored for success, with mentoring teams and group guidance. In addition, a strong and effective faculty development strategy is part of the Northeastern institutional mission. The ADVANCE Office of Faculty Development office works in conjunction with the Office of Research Development (ORD), the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (OIDI), the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research (CATLR), and University Decision Support (UDS) to provide programs and trainings to further develop and support a thriving faculty.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities will include serving as Director of the Northeastern University Biomedical Imaging Center (NUBIC), serving as a senior faculty member in the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health (CBH), teaching undergraduate and/or graduate courses, conducting an independent, externally funded research program, and contributing to the academic mission of his/her department(s).  Interdisciplinary collaboration is supported and encouraged.

Faculty members at Northeastern are expected to develop independent research programs that attract external funding; teach courses at the graduate and undergraduate level; supervise students and postdocs in their area of research; and participate in service to the department, university, and discipline. Qualified candidates must have excellence in, or a demonstrated commitment to, working with global student populations and/or in a global work and educational environment.

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. in neuroscience, psychology, physics, biomedical engineering, or a related field, or an M.D., and a record of research commensurate with rank. Candidates should have experience in, or be able to demonstrate a commitment to, working in a global work and educational environment. The Institute is seeking to give excellent candidates across all demographics of society the opportunity, resources, and support to establish innovative and impactful research careers. We encourage applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, including academia and industry.

All applicants should have a strong record of scholarly accomplishment that demonstrates the ability to build a strong research program. Candidates seeking appointments at the Associate or Full Professor level should have substantial research productivity and an established history of grant support and academic service. Appointment to the ranks of Associate Professor and Full Professor requires experience and qualifications that reflect a demonstrated record of teaching excellence and scholarly accomplishment. A minimum of six years of relevant experience is required for appointment as Associate Professor, and a minimum of twelve years of relevant experience is required for appointment as Full Professor. Research excellence is the top-most priority.

Additional Information:

Interested candidates should apply here with a curriculum vita that includes a list of publications, statements addressing the prompts below, and names and contact information for at least three professional references from whom letters of reference can be solicited as needed. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, as they arrive.

Successful faculty at Northeastern will be dynamic and innovative scholars with a record of research and teaching excellence and a commitment to fostering belonging in the university community.  Thus, strong candidates for this faculty position will have the expertise, knowledge, and skills to build their research, pedagogy, and curriculum in ways that reflect and enhance this commitment. Please indicate how your expertise, knowledge, and skills have prepared you to contribute to this work with written statements addressing the following prompts:

Research statement (no longer than 5 pages):

Please describe the focus of your research, including the questions you have identified, the funding you have received to support the work (if applicable), the results you have discovered, and the products of these efforts. Highlight any cross-disciplinary research efforts you have undertaken. Please also describe any research you have undertaken with students and/or with the external community.  Finally, please outline the research directions you foresee pursuing in the College of Science, any cross-disciplinary and collaborative aspects, and the strategies you will take to address each direction.

Teaching statement (1 page):

Please summarize your past instructional and mentorship experiences, your pedagogical philosophy, your plans/goals for teaching in the College of Science (including existing and proposed courses), and your strategies for teaching and mentoring global student populations.

Leadership and Vision statement (1 page):

Please summarize your experience in leadership positions and your vision for directing a human subject MRI Center. Describe your past experiences and activities and/or your future plans detailing your leadership style, how you intend to cultivate a culture that promotes a sense of belonging, including fostering a free and open exchange of ideas and managing different perspectives to help others strengthen their practice.

Inquiries about the position may be directed to Professor Charles Hillman ([email protected]), Search Committee Chair and Director of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Health. Review of applications will begin November 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by the law.

Position Type

Academic

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Pay Range:

Associate Professor: $115,000.00 - $171,000.00 | Professor: $149,000.00 - $317,000.00

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.