John and Elsie Martinez Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering

Tulane University, one of the nation’s premier research institutions, seeks a collaborative and interdisciplinary scholar to serve as the John and Elsie Martinez Endowed Chair within the School of Science and Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. As part of a significant investment in research and faculty excellence, the Martinez Chair will join a university on the rise with the opportunity to harness institutional momentum, leverage numerous assets and areas of strength, and drive world-class scholarship and technology development at the intersection of engineering and health sciences. Under the leadership of a new dean, the Martinez Chair will contribute to a new, exciting vision for an increasingly interdisciplinary and translational school, building faculty capacity and advancing research excellence in the areas of cognitive cyber nexus, precision health diagnostics and therapeutics, AI for all, space science and engineering, and resilient habitats and communities.

Tulane University provides a superb foundation for the position’s success. Tulane is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), offering a rich and collaborative environment for interdisciplinary interactions; a strong public service theme; and a commitment to health science as a major thrust of research, scholarship, and education. Tulane possesses a unique constellation of health-related research and clinical resources, including the Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Tropical Medicine, the National Primate Research Center, as well as the Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane Cancer Center, and an NIH T32-supported PhD program in Bioinnovation. The city of New Orleans has a burgeoning biotechnology entrepreneurial ecosystem. The city further boasts the co-location of the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium, the LSU Health Sciences Center, the New Orleans Bioinnovation Center, and the newly constructed University Medical Center and Veterans Administration Hospital. Tulane’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, since its founding, has been a leader in interdisciplinary research and teamwork across Tulane and the broader healthcare community in New Orleans. The BME curriculum, research areas of excellence, and translational studies span the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering, biomechanics and biotransport, device development, and medical imaging.

Tulane seeks individuals with great potential as well as superlative scholarly records of achievement and impact in their field in biomedical engineering who are energized by Tulane’s vision and momentum. In addition to leadership in their own research area, the Martinez Chair will contribute to the department's overall strategic direction, ensuring that it is advancing new frontiers in the field and capitalizing on the strengths and assets of the university. This individual will be a catalyst for research, maintaining a high-impact research agenda, mentoring faculty and students, attracting partnerships with industry, and strengthening the university’s reputation as a hub for impactful interdisciplinary and translational scholarship in biomedical engineering. Candidates must have academic records commensurate with appointment with tenure and are expected to maintain an active externally-funded research program as well as contribute to the educational training and teaching missions. 

Founded in 1977, the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) is a global leader in biomedical engineering education and scholarship. Its mission is to inspire and work with students to develop and apply engineering methods to address health science challenges. BME originated from joint research efforts among faculty in the School of Science and Engineering and the Schools of Medicine at Tulane and the Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans. Over the past 45 years, BME research has expanded from a mechanics-oriented focus to a broader range of investigations, including biomechanics, biotransport, biomaterials, tissue engineering, medical imaging, and biomedical device and system design. The department expends approximately $2.33 million in research funding annually. BME is home to 13 core faculty who have developed a strong expertise in computational modeling and analysis with specific foci on investigations of pulmonary mechanics, blood physiology and biomechanics, microphysiological systems, cell therapies, medical imaging, and data science. Notably, the department was also recently recognized as one of the first recipients of the Biden Cancer Moonshot project, with $22.9 million in funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPAH) to support MAGIC-SCAN, a machine-learning-assisted imaging system capable of identifying even the tiniest remnant of cancer during surgery.

The BME undergraduate program has been ABET accredited continuously since 1981 and is one of the largest majors in the School of Science and Engineering, serving approximately 150 undergraduates and 50 graduate students in BSE, MS, and PhD degree programs. The department is characterized by its close-knit culture, emphasis on teamwork, and people-centric orientation. 

BME is headquartered in the School of Science and Engineering (SSE) on Tulane’s picturesque uptown campus, with office, laboratory, and engineering facilities located on that campus. The newly opened Steven and Jann Paul Hall provides advanced laboratory and instructional space. The BME department also leads Tulane’s Institute of Integrated Engineering for Health and Medicine (TI2EHM) on the downtown Health Sciences Campus. TI2EHM is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and technology development, and provides BME faculty with exceptional laboratory and office space in close proximity to colleagues in the Schools of Medicine, Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and the New Orleans Bioinnovation Center (NOBIC). Finally, BME administers an interdisciplinary Bioinnovation PhD program that was founded by an NSF IGERT and is currently supported by an NIH T32 training grant. These initiatives position the department as a key leader in the newly endowed Tulane University Innovation Institute.


More information about the Department of Biomedical Engineering can be found here.

The John and Elsie Martinez Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering was established in 2006 to honor John L. Martinez and his wife, Elsie. Professor John Martinez served Tulane for over 50 years in many capacities, and Elsie Brupbacher Martinez was an active volunteer for Tulane and Newcomb. 

The successful candidate is expected to engage in world-class scholarship and technology development, advance departmental leadership in BME, leverage existing research areas, and strengthen connections with other academic units, local healthcare institutions, and industry. The Martinez Chair will be one of the first hires under SSE’s new strategic plan and is expected to help shape further interest and investment in relevant research clusters. Tulane seeks candidates with demonstrable leadership initiative who will attract people across disciplines to solve problems that will help the greater region and society, as well as contribute to the highly collaborative and relational culture of the department. Candidates must have academic achievements commensurate with appointment with tenure in BME and will be expected to maintain an active externally-funded research program. The successful candidate will have an outstanding record of scholarly and impactful contributions to their field and will be expected to be actively involved in undergraduate and graduate programs, consistent with having a fundamental interest in training, mentoring, and research. Scholars with expertise in one of SSE's new strategic research areas, especially brain-machine interfaces, are of particular interest. 

Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. Inquiries, nominations, referrals, and CVs with letters of interest should be sent electronically and in confidence below.

Elizabeth Weithman and Jackie Mildner are leading this search with Pamela Carty.

Tulane University is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution committed to excellence through diversity. Tulane University will not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other status or classification protected by federal, state, or local law. All eligible candidates are encouraged to apply.