MaineHealth Institute for Research

Ranked among the nation’s top 100 integrated healthcare delivery networks, MaineHealth is an 11- hospital statewide integrated not-for-profit health care delivery system leading the way in promoting public health and wellness in Maine. MaineHealth includes inpatient and outpatient services, and both primary and specialty care, spans eleven counties and serves approximately three-fourths of Maine’s population of 1.3 million as well as one county in rural New Hampshire. MaineHealth is a not-for-profit health system dedicated to improving the health of our patients and communities by providing high-quality affordable care, educating tomorrow’s caregivers, and researching better ways to provide care.

MaineHealth Institute for Research implements our research mission through integration of a thriving community of basic science, clinical, and health service researchers, providing outstanding opportunities for translational discovery and implementation. We foster strong partnerships between research and clinical care, while growing our portfolio across basic science, translational research, health services, implementation science, clinical research, and population health outcomes. To support this expansion, we are actively seeking faculty candidates at various levels—Faculty Scientist I (Assistant Professor), Faculty Scientist II (Associate Professor), and Faculty Scientist III (Professor). Advanced degrees (MD, DO, PhD) are required for these positions which are expected to be filled over the next 6-18 months. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. See job description and application portal here.

We are seeking expansion along a spectrum of research, but not limited to these areas of focus:

  • Metabolic health and disease
  • Rural health access and delivery, health disparities, community healthcare delivery
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Social and environmental drivers of health
  • Implementation science
  • Cancer control, behavioral and psychosocial oncology, survivorship and quality of life, quality of care/ health services research
  • Autism spectrum disorder, associated sleep disorders, and therapeutic mindfulness interventions
  • Genomics, clinical neuroscience and neurology, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Infectious diseases, anti-microbial resistance, emerging pathogens and vector-borne diseases

For more information about faculty positions in our Center for Interdisciplinary Population and Health Research, contact Search Committee Chair Dr. Cara Frankenfeld (Cara.Frankenfeld@mainehealth.org).

For more information about faculty positions in our Center for Molecular Medicine, contact Search Committee Chair Dr. Joseph Nadeau (Joseph.Nadeau@mainehealth.org), and see below.

The Center for Molecular Medicine is the basic science division of MaineHealth Institute for Research. We are currently a collaborative and collegial group of 20 faculty members bringing in ~$15 million of NIH funding this fiscal year. Our research programs are complemented by collaborations with our other research centers, including the Center for Interdisciplinary Population and Health Research, and the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences. In addition, we have extensive collaborations with clinicians at MaineHealth. Major infrastructure center programs include:

  • Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network (PI: Clifford Rosen MD and Gary Stein PhD) – This is an NIGMS-funded initiative to increase clinical research infrastructure throughout northern New England. The Center has played a lead role in a number of important clinical research initiatives, many involving new investigators and including collaborations among with numerous collaborating institutions.
  • Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Metabolic Networks (PI: Lucy Liaw PhD) – our focus is on metabolic health and disease, and we are currently recruiting junior faculty to join our program.
  • COBRE in Acute Care Research (PI: Douglas Sawyer MD, PhD) builds upon MaineHealth’s exceptional clinical experience and strong basic/translational research program to create a framework for enhancing acute care research throughout the state, including mentoring and supporting clinician researchers to establish a successful and integrated research and clinical care network that covers rural areas in Maine.

The Center for Molecular Medicine is located on our 50 acre MaineHealth Scarborough campus, housed in a modern 80,000ft2 research facility, including an AAALAC-accredited rodent barrier facility and high end instrumentation for molecular, cell, and protein biology and biochemistry experimentation. We have institutionally- and grant-supported core facilities for mass spectrometry, histopathology, microscopy, flow cytometry and cell sorting, small animal imaging and physiological assessment, and mouse genome modification.

Academic appointments and partnerships are through University of Maine systems, Tufts University, University of Southern Maine, and the Roux Institute at Northeastern University. These academic partnerships provide access to undergraduate and graduate trainees, and our faculty members participate in teaching, mentorship, and training. Externally funded training programs include a University of Maine T32 predoctoral training program (PIs: Clarissa Henry PhD and Lucy Liaw PhD), a MaineHealth T35 short term training program for MaineTrack medical student research fellowships (PIs: Lucy Liaw PhD and Kinna Thakarar DO), and foundation grants to support undergraduate research experiences.

Our commitment to training includes our signature summer undergraduate research program, which has garnered external grant support from foundations such as the American Heart Association.

Our COBRE in Metabolic Networks is specifically recruiting one junior investigator to join our program for fall 2025 start, and a second junior investigator in 2026. Read our 2024 report to learn more about our COBRE program. Questions about this program can be directed to Lucy Liaw (Lucy.Liaw@mainehealth.org)

Applications are currently being reviewed – please share with colleagues who may be a good fit.

Living in Southern Maine is the way life should be. We are located in the greater Portland area, ~110 miles north of Boston. Portland consistently has garnered recognition as a great place to live and visit, recently being ranked by CNN No. 4 on the America’s Best Towns to visit, due to its food/restaurant scene (Maine chefs are routinely noticed by James Beard Award selection committees, and Portland is always in contention for best beer city recognitions), fantastic scenery and nature, and outdoor activities.