Faculty Career Advancement

TiCER strives to advance the careers of the participating faculty.

Faculty Spotlight

Jennifer Horney

Jennifer Horney is an associate professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health. She is a rising star in the field of environmental health under the mentorship of Center director, Dr. David Threadgill.

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Career Development Opportunities


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Career mentoring occurs on many levels at TiCER.

The Center partners with several university-wide programs run by the Dean of Faculties office (e.g., workshops on grant writing, work/life balance, conflict management, K-awards, and promotion and tenure) to provide access to established career development programs designed for postdocs transitioning to independence and for junior faculty advancing through the professorial ranks. The Center primarily focuses on mentoring in the area of environmental health research, leadership, and networking.

All junior faculty are given ample opportunity to engage with the Center-sponsored seminar speakers and will be tracked by the Program Committee to ensure they are actively engaged in all Center activities. Junior faculty joining he university will be encouraged to apply for Center membership. Center director Dr. David Threadgill will personally reach out to prospective members.

As part of the application, each potential new member at the Assistant Professor level will be required to identify a mentoring committee, which can be an extension of their departmental mentoring committee. However, the committee must have at least one senior Center member, who will be identified in consultation with the Center Director, as their primary environmental health mentor. The new member and their mentoring committee will develop an individual development plan to provide a clear path toward a sustainable environmental health research program, including a timeline to submission of a pilot project application. Additionally, all new members will be required to meet with the Center Associate Director to discuss avenues and opportunities for stakeholder engagement via the CEC.

In addition to structured mentoring programs, the facility cores provide additional matching support for junior Center members and have training embedded into their missions.

Engaging junior faculty with CEC and IHSFC functions is particularly emphasized. The CEC hosts an annual workshop on community engagement and the IHSFC sponsors annual translational research workshops to assist faculty in accessing capabilities to translate their work.

Funds will also be made available by the Administrative Core for junior faculty to participate in “mini-sabbaticals” at other institutions to obtain training in specific technologies or to develop new collaborations. Funding will support travel and subsistence for up to one month.

Pilot project awardees, irrespective or career stage, will have access to career mentoring programs.