The Department of Public Health and Primary Care of KU Leuven, invites scholars to apply for a full-time research professorship in the domain of science, healthcare and society. This position is funded by the Special Research Fund (BOFZAP), established by the Flemish Government.
We are looking for motivated and internationally oriented candidates with an excellent research record and with educational competence in the field of science, healthcare and society. The appointment is expected to start on October 1, 2025. Applications will be evaluated in parallel and independently by 1) the KU Leuven Research Council in a competitive process across academic domains and 2) an interfaculty advisory committee. During the first 10 years, the teaching obligations as a research professor will be limited. Afterwards, the position will be transformed into a regular professorship.
The BOFZAP mandate has an interdisciplinary character and also includes holding the position of content-related director of Vesalius - a new museum and platform of KU Leuven and UZ Leuven on the theme of science, healthcare and society.
In two buildings with a rich medical history, the Vesalius museum and platform studies and explains how science, healthcare and society are intertwined. Exhibitions aim to increase scientific awareness and also contribute to the social debate. Academic heritage collections are used for this purpose, in particular those of KU Leuven and UZ Leuven. Historical gems from these collections – including unique pieces such as a copy of 'De humani corporis fabrica' with personal notes by Andreas Vesalius – stand side by side with the latest scientific innovations, immersive experiences and works of art. It is a platform for interdisciplinary research, linked to a museum that will highlight the central theme in an interactive and audience-oriented manner. Vesalius will contribute to quality science communication and education and arouse both academic and public interest in the world of disease and health, science and innovation, and current and social issues related to this. Vesalius makes it possible to conduct research into various forms of science communication and the impact of these different forms. It can itself function as a laboratory to experiment with different working methods and approaches in the field of science communication.
Duties
Research
It is part of the assignment of the appointed candidate to develop, within the domain of science, healthcare and society an international, competitive research programme, to pursue excellent scientific results at an international level and to support and promote national and international research partnerships. The candidate must meet a strong research profile or have the potential to do so.
The appointed candidate will conduct innovative, internationally oriented research into the interactions between science, healthcare and society in both the past and the present, based on an interdisciplinary approach with attention to science communication. Using, among others, the academic collections mentioned above, the candidate will develop an innovative and internationally competitive research program on how the worlds of laboratory, clinic and everyday life interact; how various forms of knowledge are created, evolve and influence each other; how new trends and technologies are entering the healthcare sector and what impact they have had on society; what barriers can arise when integrating new technologies into healthcare and how an adequate introduction into society can influence this process. In addition, the research can focus on aspects of science communication on these themes. How can the museum representation of both historical and contemporary heritage objects and dynamics lead to a greater understanding of how science and healthcare function within society? How can we get different target groups to think critically about more controversial topics within science and healthcare, without undermining their trust in these institutions?
In addition, the candidate is expected to have a multidisciplinary attitude and a willingness to cooperate intensively with other researchers and research units at KU Leuven.
The candidate:
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- Is an excellent, internationally oriented researcher and develops a research programme at the forefront in the field of science, healthcare and society.
- Strengthens existing research lines and brings complementary and/or additionally new expertise by working closely with the members of the research unit. Your responsibilities include setting up, attracting, carrying out and supervising internationally relevant research in line with the vision of Vesalius, in strong interaction with various partners both within and outside KU Leuven and UZ Leuven.
- Publishes at the highest scientific level.
- Develops an own research group.
- Supervises master students, PhD students and/or postdocs at a high international level.
- Aims to acquire competitive research funding from national and/or international agencies and submits effective research project proposals for this purpose.
- Establishes both within KU Leuven, national and international partnerships in the context of the research programme.
- Strives for excellence in research and provides a contribution to the international research reputation of KU Leuven.
- Develops a broad scientific service in the field of science communication, both within and outside KU Leuven.
- Rolls out the content profile of Vesalius. You determine the vision of Vesalius and write the policy plans, in close consultation with the business coordinator, the team and the Board of Vesalius.
- Coordinates the content-related aspects of projects within Vesalius, such as exhibitions, co-creative and artistic projects, collection research, workshops and programming.
- Monitors the substantive quality of Vesalius.
Teaching
Although the position regards a research professorship at the start of employment, the candidate is expected to gradually contribute to state of the art teaching.
The assignment of the candidate to be appointed therefore also includes a limited teaching assignment in the thematic field of science, healthcare and society, in one or more faculties of the Biomedical Sciences Group, the Human Sciences Group and/or the Science and Technology Group.
This education must meet the requirements set for academic programs in terms of level, orientation and academic content, in particular it is research-based and oriented. Education must be in line with the educational concept of KU Leuven and any partner institutions involved. Commitment to the quality of the training as a whole is taken for granted.
Service
Scientific, societal and internal services (administrative and/or institutional) are also part of the assignment.
The position holder is responsible for the content-related management of the Vesalius museum. As mentioned above, this museum is an initiative of KU Leuven and UZ Leuven that investigates the interaction between science, healthcare and society in a versatile way.
The appointed candidate is expected to be able to strengthen Vesalius' position in a growth scenario and to profile Vesalius as a leading institution at home and abroad. The emphasis is on profiling Vesalius as a multidisciplinary research group in the field of science, healthcare and society. The appointed candidate is expected to collaborate smoothly with the colleague who is responsible for the business management of Vesalius and that both form a close-knit team.
Requirements
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- You have a PhD with a relevant substantive approach to the domain of science, healthcare and society. If you have recently obtained your PhD, it is important that you support your research and growth potential with academic references.
- You have an strong research profile in the field of science, healthcare and society and an indisputable research integrity.
- The quality of your research is proven by international publications, participation in international conferences, embedding in international networks and setting up and participating in research projects.
- A strong record in the field of science communication is considered as an important advantage.
- You demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the academic field, as well as of the Flemish and international museum context (particularly in the areas of science, healthcare and society). A relevant network is recommended.
- You have demonstrable qualities related to academic education an you are willing to provide education at an academic level.
- You possess organizational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also have leadership skills within a university context.
- The content director of Vesalius must not only enter into discussions with the various actors and stakeholders in Flanders and internationally, but must also radiate visibility and leadership in the thematic field. Your spoken and written Dutch and English are therefore good to (in the short term) excellent.
- The official administrative language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in administrative meetings. Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch resp. English to the required standard. Given the above-mentioned responsibility of content director, this required knowledge will have to be developed in the short term.
Offer
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- We offer full-time employment in an intellectually challenging environment. KU Leuven is an research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly inter- and multidisciplinary focused and strives for international excellence. In this regard, we actively collaborate with research partners in Belgium and abroad. We provide our students with an academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research.
- Depending on your qualifications and academic experience, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, junior researches are appointed as assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years; after this period and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed as an associate professor.
- You will work in Leuven, a historic and dynamic and vibrant city located in the heart of Belgium, within twenty minutes from Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and less than two hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.
- KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration and administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching, … In order to facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first phase a starting grant of 110.000 euro is offered to new professors without substantial other funding and appointed for at least 50%.
More information
full application and selection procedure Research Professorships (BOFZAP)
Interested?
More information on the content of the job can be obtained from the academic contact person Prof. dr. Pascal Borry, tel.: +32 16 37 95 17, mail: pascal.borry@kuleuven.be. For problems with online applying, please contact solliciteren@kuleuven.be.
More information on the guidelines, regulations and application file is available from Ms. Kristin Vermeylen (kristin.vermeylen@kuleuven.be, tel. +32 16 32 09 07) or or Ms. Martine van Nierop (martine.vannieropt@kuleuven.be , tel. +32 16 32 76 98).
Your application file includes: 1) Personal data; 2) Biosketch; 3) Extensive Curriculum Vitae including complete list of publications; 4) Academic contact person; 5) Keywords and brief summary of research, focusing on the development of a research line linked to the museum, with a specification of relevant collaborations, a portfolio with relevant projects focused on science communication, and a vision text for the Vesalius museum (max 5 pages).
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