Skip to main content

Research Faculty

The Research Track is a faculty career track intended to increase the quality and productivity of research programs at the Feinberg School of Medicine by permitting appointment of scholars to the faculty on a non-tenure basis in order to participate in and cooperate with the research efforts of faculty with tenure-track appointments. Individuals appointed as research faculty should hold terminal degrees and intend to concentrate on research. They are not subject to teaching responsibilities, though they may participate in the training of students in an area of expertise in which they are uniquely qualified. They are not eligible for tenure and cannot participate in the governance of the University. Research faculty do not normally move to positions on the tenure-track faculty, and may do so only in conjunction with a national search.
 

Research Faculty Ranks

  • Research Assistant Professor
  • Research Associate Professor
  • Research Professor
      

Appointment Term Length

  • Standard appointment term length is one year
  • If the proposed appointment is less than one year, written justification is required to (1) explain the need for the short term and (2) confirm that upon conclusion of the short term, the research faculty member will either be reappointed for a full year or terminated
  • If the proposed appointment is longer than one year, written justification is required to (1) explain the reason for the longer term and (2) confirm that funding is guaranteed for the duration of the appointment. The maximum term length is three years.

Appointment Transactions (submitted via OnBase)

  • Submit requests at least 3 weeks before the effective date. You may be asked to resubmit with a revised effective date if there is not sufficient time for appointment processing.
  • If the candidate has a visa, write "VISA" in two places: (1) at the top of the first page of appointment packet, and (2) in the Comments and Notes section of the OnBase submission form. 
  • Do not contact FAO for status updates or appointment letters unless more than 3 weeks have passed since you submitted a correct and complete request (i.e., if an OnBase transaction is rejected and you need to resubmit, the 3-week timeline begins at the time FAO receives your resubmission). 
  • Recognize that transactions route through multiple offices, and approval by FAO does not mean that a request is fully processed. View OnBase Routing Workflows for more information.