The Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia with 38 faculty menbers (33.5 FTE) is currently one of the strongest and most broadly based life science departments in the country. Our Department, and life sciences generally consists, of three overlapping discipline areas: ecology and evolutionary biology, physiology, and cell biology . The main theme for the department’s development in the foreseeable future will be organismal variation, development and evolution. The four major foci in the department represent different challenges and opportunities. Our objective is to retain strength in the four key areas of the department while making appointments that will provide for bridging between major subdisciplines. Hiring and development in Cell biology will be done in accordance with the Interdepartmental Cell Biology Unit Plan as much as possible.
The ecology group has had and is facing a number of retirements. This group has been an area of historical strength of the department. The hiring plan provides for maintenance of strength in this area (field ecology position, just filled) and, in particular, for an appointment in conservation biology and a senior CRC Chair in Biodiversity and Systematics to strengthen the Biodiversity Research Centre.
There has been a substantial increase in strength and depth in evolutionary biology, especially in its theoretical aspects in the last five to ten years. This development complements the great strength of the Botany evolution group in molecular phylogenetics, and gives UBC what is probably the strongest combined evolutionary group in the country. It is important that the strength in theoretical evolutionary biology be balanced by strength in empirical evolutionary biology and field ecology. This plan provides for bridging appointments in evolutionary aspects of physiology, genetics and developmental biology.
The cell biology group in the department is rapidly developing strength and is interacting strongly with cell biologists in other departments. In this area some appointments are shared appointments with other units, recognizing and building on the trend toward inter-unit cooperation that has already been developed. In particular the department has strong ties to the Biotechnology Laboratory (proposed shared position: Caenorhabditis Neurodevelopment), the Neurosciences Program and to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (Shared position: Subcellular biology). Proposed hiring in cell biology, genetics and molecular physiology must be seen in a faculty and campus wide context (See Interdepartmental Cell Biology Unit Plan).
Physiology is the most diverse and integrative component of the department. It includes both reductionist analysis of organismal function, as well an integration of organismal function at the highest level of interaction with environmental and ecological factors There is increasing integration between molecular and cell biology with the more strongly reductionist elements of physiology. This is especially true for the neurobiologists who interact strongly with researchers in the Neurosciences program (position: Developmental Neurobiology) and with CORD, a research group focused on neural repair and development that arose within the department. CORD is in the process of appointing a Neurobiologist whose position will be in the Zoology Department. At the other end of the physiology spectrum, are comparative physiologists who study organismal integration and adaptation from a comparative and evolutionary standpoint . Comparative physiology has been a historical strength in the department. This plan provides for renewal of integrative and comparative physiological studies and their stronger integration with evolutionary biology (position: Evolutionary physiology) and ecology (Environmental physiology and Field physiology), which, of course, are key for understanding organismal diversity and population biology. The Senior CRC Chair in MRI/MRS studies) is a joint position (Radiology/ Physics/ Zoology) that will provide support for advanced imaging technology in the faculty. This supports both the neurobiology and CORD positions as well as comparative physiologists.
The department has had five recent retirements. Two positions have not been filled, and a third unfilled position has been created by resignation of Dr. Chris Airriess, Assistant Professor. In the next five years five further retirements will occur, three in 2002 and two in 2003. This plan will focus on eight positions plus the CRC chair proposals that were put forward during summer 2000.
Physiology – replacement position for Dr. Airriess. Dr. Trish Schulte has been appointed and will start 1 Sept 2001. This is position 2 in the hiring plan below.
Field Ecology Position – The goal was to recruit an experimental field ecologist. Dr. Diane Srivastava has been appointed for 1 July 2001. This is position 1 in the hiring plan.
Subcellular Biology. Tier II Canada Research Chair. Shared with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The search is continuing. This is position 5 in the hiring plan.
Other appointments in process:
Developmental Neurobiology (position 12 in hiring plan). The candidate is Dr. Jane Roskams.
CORD endowed position in neurobiology. Dr. Matt Rahmer has been appointed and will start 1 July 2001. This is an endowed position in the Zoology Department.
MRI/MRS Director. This is a Tier I Canada Research Chair (Position 11 in hiring plan below). The search is continuing.
Positions
are summarized in the list below and associated with the major research groups
within the department as described in the Research
Plan. Nearly all of these positions
were written up as initial CRC chair proposals. The two areas of the department
that are in greatest need of new faculty to maintain the teaching program are
physiology and ecology. In both of these areas needs are acute. This hiring plan
will provide for the maintenance of strength in both areas. We anticipate that
student load in life sciences will stay about as it is now for the next few
years. The teaching requirements within each of the main research areas are
broad and general enough that there should be no problem covering present or
foreseeable teaching needs from the positions noted below.
One
of the striking features of this set of positions is the degree of interaction
between appointments in the different areas of the department as described in
the Research Plan. Interaction between researchers in different areas of the
department is increasing and the possibility for interactions with researchers
in different units across campus is also very important, especially for
researchers in cell biology and molecular physiology.
Positions by Subdiscipline Group Positions in relation to existing or new slots
The start-up funding needs of the department are substantial, amounting to $520,000 from departmental resources over the 5 year course of this plan, and $1.25 million overall. At the departmental level this sum is made possible through the occurrence of a 3.5 year leave of absence by a senior member of the Department. Without adequate start-up funding this hiring plan ( and those of other departments in the Faculty) will come to naught. The difficulties encountered in raising sufficient start-up funding for recruitment of the first junior Canada Research Chair (Zoology/ Microbiology: Subcellular Biology) simply point to the extent of the problem.
Last updated 01 May 2001