Academic Rheumatologist | Visa Sponsorship (H-1B, J-1 Waiver) | Leadership Opportunities | Protected Research Time University of Mississippi Medical Center | Jackson, Mississippi The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) invites applications and nominations for an academic rheumatologist to join the Section of Rheumatology in the Division of Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine. Three things set this position apart. Visa sponsorship is available for any candidate who needs it: H-1B as a cap-exempt academic employer, J-1 waiver through two separate routes, and permanent residence, all coordinated by UMMC’s Office of International Services. Leadership opportunities are part of the plan: this hire is the first step in a deliberate effort to grow Rheumatology, and the right individual can move into fellowship education, clinical program, research, and section and division leadership over time. Protected research time is built in, supported by the NIH-funded Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR), which provides salary support for protected research effort, pilot grant funding, and structured mentorship to junior faculty. Fellows completing training in 2027, including international medical graduates, are strongly encouraged to apply, as are early- and mid-career academic rheumatologists who want to teach fellows, publish with colleagues, and build a clinical or scholarly niche. UMMC has retained Academic Med to lead this national search. Why This Position Visa sponsorship through every major pathway. H-1B sponsorship as a cap-exempt academic employer (no lottery, filed any time of year); J-1 waiver sponsorship through both the Mississippi Conrad 30 program and the Delta Regional Authority’s Delta Doctors program, which gives UMMC more flexibility on timing and slots than institutions that rely on a single state allocation; and permanent residence sponsorship (EB-1B and EB-2). UMMC’s Office of International Services works with faculty recruits from the offer stage forward. Leadership opportunities. An institutional commitment to grow Rheumatology, a meaningful voice in shaping what the program becomes, and, for candidates with the interest and experience, leadership roles in fellowship education, clinical quality and informatics, clinical research, and, over time, section and division leadership. Protected research time and the grant mechanisms to use it. Protected time for scholarship is available and will be scaled to your background and proposed program. The NIH-funded MCCTR is the established pathway through which junior faculty in the Department of Medicine secure protected research effort: a Clinical and Translational Research Scholars Program with salary support and pilot funding, a Mentoring Academy, and a biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design core. The Division Director, Gailen D. Marshall, MD, PhD, leads the MCCTR’s Research Services Core. A research ecosystem built for rheumatology. An NIH-funded translational lupus program seeking a clinical rheumatology partner, active lupus and lupus nephritis trials, the Jackson Heart Study, national real-world data networks, and the state’s only CAR-T program. An established practice from day one. Step into an active statewide referral base rather than spending years building one, with fellows embedded in faculty clinics and a rheumatology infusion service on site. Limited call. Inpatient consultation follows a consultative model shared among the faculty in rotation. Fellows take first call, and night and weekend call is limited to backup for the fellows. An ACGME-accredited fellowship to teach in. A two-year Rheumatology Fellowship with fellows rotating through faculty clinics, so you teach and mentor from the start. A first faculty position built to succeed. Structured mentorship, an initial period of salary protection while you establish your practice, and a Department of Medicine Office of Faculty Development and Advancement. The Practice Rheumatology at UMMC is predominantly outpatient, based in the University Medical Pavilion adjacent to University Hospital and supported by a rheumatology infusion service. Mississippi’s patient population produces a very high volume of systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, inflammatory arthritis, and gout, and the most complex and rare rheumatic disease in the state is referred to UMMC. Rheumatology is among the most undersupplied subspecialties in the country, and the shortage is most acute in the Southeast; the impact of one additional academic rheumatologist here is felt statewide. The section sits within the Division of Clinical Immunology, led by Gailen D. Marshall, MD, PhD, Professor and Director, Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Medicine, past President of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and an NIH-funded investigator. Current Rheumatology faculty include the Fellowship Program Director and the Medical Director of the Rheumatology Clinic. The integrated division gives rheumatology faculty daily proximity to allergy and clinical immunology colleagues, translational investigators, and shared research infrastructure, and UMMC’s separate Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at Children’s of Mississippi, the state’s only children’s hospital, offers natural collaboration in transition of care, lupus outcomes, and shared education. Research and Scholarship UMMC’s research enterprise is supported by more than $110 million in sponsored program funding each year, and its MD-PhD program received NIH Medical Scientist Training Program designation in 2026. Programs unusually well suited to an academic rheumatologist include: Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR): an NIH-funded statewide center led from UMMC, with a Mentoring Academy, pilot project funding, a biostatistics and research design core, and a Scholars Program that provides salary support for protected research effort to junior faculty. Translational lupus research and clinical trials: an NIH-funded laboratory program on immune dysfunction and cardiovascular and renal injury in lupus that is extending into patient-based studies and seeking a clinical rheumatology partner; nephrology colleagues with a large lupus nephritis population and an interest in a collaborative lupus nephritis program; and active industry-sponsored lupus and lupus nephritis trials supported by a central Office of Clinical Trials. Jackson Heart Study: the nation’s largest and longest-running longitudinal study of cardiovascular health in African Americans, based at UMMC, with ancillary investigation in rheumatology largely unexplored. Population health and real-world data: the John D. Bower School of Population Health, a de-identified institutional research data warehouse, access to Epic Cosmos and TriNetX, and Biobank Mississippi in partnership with Mayo Clinic. Cellular therapy: Mississippi’s only bone marrow transplant and CAR-T cell…