Director Position for Biodiversity Research Center

Director Position, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan

Academia Sinica, Taiwan, invites applications and nominations for the position of Director of the Biodiversity Research Center (BRC), Academia Sinica. The initial appointment is for a period of three years (renewable for a second term). Ideal starting date is January 1, 2022, but is flexible.

As the pre-eminent academic research institution in Taiwan, Academia Sinica is devoted to basic and applied research in life sciences, mathematics and physical sciences, humanities, and social sciences. BRC is a dynamic research center established in 2004 and its mission is to promote basic ecology and biodiversity research in Taiwan and to advance domestic and international research collaborations in the conservation, education, and sustainable use of biodiversity. At present, BRC has four major research foci: (1) Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems, (2) Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecosystems, (3) Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics, and (4) Microbial Diversity and Bioinformatics. It has a total of 22 faculty members, including 7 Full Research Fellows (including Distinguished Research Fellows), 10 Associate Research Fellows, and 5 Assistant Research Fellows. BRC is well funded and equipped with modern research facilities, comparable to major life science departments or research institutes in the U.S. BRC maintains a high research standard with a high-quality publication record. For more detailed information about Academia Sinica and BRC, please see http://www.sinica.edu.tw/en and http://www.biodiv.tw/en/ , respectively.

Candidates must have a PhD, or equivalent degree, and have demonstrated leadership ability and senior-level research experience with strong international standing in relevant research areas. Besides pursuing a rigorous research program, the successful candidate is expected to develop and implement an overall vision for BRC’s research plan, evaluate research efforts, allocate resources and advise the president of Academia Sinica on scientifically interesting research areas in ecology, biodiversity and conservation in Taiwan. The salary is competitive.

We encourage international applicants. Academia Sinica is a vibrant place with ~10% international scientists at all levels and where English is commonplace. While Mandarin speaking ability is helpful, it is not necessary. At present, the directors of 2 of the 8 life sciences institutes are non-Mandarin speakers.

Applications should include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, a vision statement on the proposed research directions for and public/academic services provided by BRC, a statement of research accomplishments, and full contact information for three to five references. Nominations should include a brief rationale for recommendation and contact information. This information should be submitted to the Chair of the Search Committee, Dr. Chi-Hon Lee, Academia Sinica, 128, Section 2, Academia Road,    Nankang, Taipei  115, Taiwan or by email to our secretary Miss Miao-Suey Lin . Letters of recommendation will be requested on the applicant’s behalf. Review of candidates will begin on June 1, 2021.

General information about BRC

The Biodiversity Research Center (BRC) was established in January 2004, in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted by the Taiwan government. The mission of BRC is to assess, study and sustainably develop biodiversity in Taiwan and to integrate biological, biotechnological, ecological, and socio-economical disciplines in pursuit of academic excellence and innovation. At present, BRC has four major research foci: (1) Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems, (2) Terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecosystems, (3) Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics, and (4) Microbial Diversity and Bioinformatics. It has 22 faculty members, including 7 Full Research Fellows (including Distinguished Research Fellows), 10 Associate Research Fellows, and 5 Assistant Research Fellows. BRC is an international assembly of scholars, and at present four of the colleagues are from foreign regions including Japan, Hong Kong and USA. BRC has its own high-throughput genomics core, which operates all major sequencing platforms, including Illumina HiSeq2500 and MiSeq, PacBio Sequel and Oxford Nanopore GridION systems. BRC operates two major off-campus research stations: the Green Island Marine Biological Station at Green Island, Pacific waters of Taiwan for marine ecological survey and research; the field station at Yuanyang Lake for long-term ecological study in high mountain lake systems. BRC hosts its own Biodiversity Ph.D. program within the Taiwan International Graduate Program of Academia Sinica, which regularly attracts Ph.D. students from around the world.

In addition to excellence in scientific research, BRC contributes academic services globally having established the Thematic Center in Systematics and Biodiversity Informatics and the Thematic Center in Marine Sciences. BRC runs an SCI journal Zoological Studies (impact factor 1.257), a place for international scholars to publish high quality open-access papers free of page charges. BRC houses the Biodiversity Research Museum which consists of more than a hundred thousand research specimens including plants, fishes, birds, and invertebrates. The fish collection at the museum is the most comprehensive collection in Taiwan and adjacent areas.