The Department of Nutrition and Public Health Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville invites applications for a nine-month, tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. This position is part of an interdisciplinary faculty research cluster developed in partnership with River Valley Health (RVH), a large federally qualified health center (FQHC) network serving more than 60,000 patients annually across more than 20 clinical sites in East Tennessee. RVH provides comprehensive primary care and integrated health services to a diverse patient population, including patients from rural, underserved, and medically vulnerable communities. The scale and reach of the RVH network provide an exceptional environment for embedded research addressing chronic disease prevention and management, healthcare delivery, implementation, and population health.
The RVH research cluster is designed to establish a sustained, collaborative research enterprise between the University of Tennessee and RVH. Cluster faculty work closely with RVH leadership, clinicians, staff, patients, and other partners to identify health-system and patient priorities; develop and implement interventions within real-world clinical settings; leverage clinical, patient-generated, and other health data; and evaluate outcomes at the patient, provider, clinic, and health-system levels. RVH is the primary healthcare partner and organizing research environment for the cluster, and most of the faculty members’ research effort is expected to be devoted to collaborative research conducted with RVH and the other cluster faculty.
The cluster is supported by a dedicated Project Coordinator who facilitates research activities across the UT–RVH partnership, including coordination with RVH clinics and personnel, study implementation, participant recruitment and data collection, and other operational needs of collaborative projects. This shared infrastructure is intended to allow cluster faculty to efficiently develop and conduct multi-site, practice-based research across the RVH network and to support the growth of a sustained portfolio of externally funded research.
We seek an innovative scholar whose research focuses on health services research, healthcare delivery and innovation, clinical or population health informatics, implementation science, learning health systems, or related areas. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary cluster with existing strengths in nutrition, digital health and technology, physical activity, behavioral intervention development, and implementation science.
A central goal of this hire is to add expertise that complements, rather than substantially duplicates, the existing cluster. Candidates may conduct research involving nutrition, physical activity, obesity, cardiometabolic health, or related behavioral outcomes, but their primary scholarly contribution should extend the cluster into areas such as healthcare delivery, clinical systems, health services research, informatics, pragmatic trials, learning health systems, clinical workflow, organizational change, or other areas not already represented by the current faculty.
The new faculty member will strengthen the cluster’s capacity to integrate research into healthcare delivery, leverage electronic health records and other real-world health data, evaluate interventions within routine clinical care, and study outcomes at the patient, provider, clinic, and health-system levels. Candidates with clinical backgrounds who can bridge public health research with clinical operations and healthcare delivery are particularly encouraged to apply.
The cluster is intended to function as an integrated research team rather than as a collection of independent investigators using RVH primarily as a recruitment or data source (i.e., a Team-Science approach). Faculty are expected to collaboratively develop a coordinated portfolio of externally funded research that addresses priorities identified with RVH while producing generalizable knowledge relevant to FQHCs, primary care, rural health, and other safety-net healthcare systems.
Areas of research expertise may include:
We particularly encourage candidates whose scholarship bridges public health and clinical care to apply. Clinical training, licensure, or credentials that support meaningful engagement and embedded research within healthcare delivery settings are strongly preferred. Relevant clinical backgrounds may include nursing or advanced practice nursing, medicine, psychology, pharmacy, or other health professions. Candidates with nonclinical backgrounds may also be considered if they demonstrate substantial expertise conducting embedded health services research and working collaboratively within healthcare systems.
Clinical or professional training in nutrition, physical activity, behavioral health, or other related areas is not exclusionary; however, the successful candidate should bring a primary area of expertise that clearly complements the existing cluster and expands its scientific and methodological capabilities.
The successful candidate will be expected to work closely with the other faculty and dedicated Project Coordinator in the RVH research cluster to develop a coordinated and externally funded research portfolio; establish sustained working relationships with RVH leadership, clinicians, staff, and patients; contribute complementary expertise in healthcare delivery, clinical systems, informatics, health services research, and/or real-world data; and participate in the development, implementation, and evaluation of interventions across the RVH network.
The faculty member will also collaborate with colleagues across the University of Tennessee in nutrition, public health, kinesiology, health sciences, informatics, and related disciplines; mentor undergraduate and graduate students; and contribute to the Department’s teaching mission in areas aligned with the candidate’s expertise.
Required of all candidates:
For appointment at the Assistant Professor level:
For appointment at the Associate Professor level:
Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. Individuals interested in applying for this position should submit electronically at https://apply.interfolio.com/194553 a letter of application outlining how the candidate fits the qualifications and expectations of the position, curriculum vita, and list of three references who can address the applicant’s capabilities with complete addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Questions can be directed to Dr. Jared McGuirt, search committee chair, at jmcguirt@utk.edu.
All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment and admission without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, and parental status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law. In accordance with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Tennessee affirmatively states that it does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or disability in its education programs and activities, and this policy extends to employment by the university.
Requests for accommodation of a disability should be directed to the ADA Coordinator at Equal Opportunity and Accessibility, 1840 Melrose Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to eoa@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-2498. Inquiries and charges of violation of Title VI (race, color, and national origin), Title IX (sex), Section 504 (disability), the ADA (disability), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (age), sexual orientation, or veteran status should be directed to the Office of Investigation and Resolution, 216 Business Incubator Building, E J. Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3560, by email to investigations@utk.edu, or by phone at 865-974-0717.
