Vice President, Blue Zones Farms Institute in Galveston, Texas at University of Texas Medical Branch

Job Summary:

UTMB seeks an entrepreneurial, mission-driven leader to serve as the inaugural Director of the Blue Zones Farms Institute, a jointly governed innovation incubator established in collaboration with Blue Zones, LLC. The Director will lead the development, launch, and ongoing management of Blue Zones Farms as a living laboratory and innovation platform focused on advancing healthy longevity. The incubator will support the development, validation, distribution, and scaling of new tools, technologies, interventions, and clinical programs aligned with Blue Zones Principles and UTMB's academic, research, clinical, and innovation mission. The Director will be an employee of UTMB and will report to UTMB's Chief Research Officer, with accountability to the Blue Zones Farms Board.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Governance

• Partner with the UTMB Office of Innovation and Blue Zones Leadership to operationalize Blue Zones Farms' strategic vision.
• Execute strategic priorities established by the Blue Zones Farms Advisory Board.
• Present quarterly performance, financial, and impact reports to the Board.
• Develop and implement Board-approved operating procedures.
• Ensure alignment with UTMB policies, UT System requirements, and State of Texas regulations.

Program Development & Operations

• Design and implement the Blue Zones Farms operational framework, including:
  • Participant selection processes
  • Mentorship structures
  • Validation and clinical integration pathways
  • Data access protocols
• Oversee co-working, laboratory, and meeting space utilization.
• Ensure compliance with HIPAA, data privacy, research governance, and institutional review requirements.
• Develop metrics to measure programmatic, clinical, financial, and research impact.

Participant Oversight & Agreements

• Oversee development and execution of Participant Agreements in coordination with the Office of Innovation.
• Ensure proper intellectual property assignment and documentation for Participant Developments.
• Safeguard academic independence and publication rights.
• Manage participant lifecycle from selection through commercialization or program completion.

Innovation and Commercialization

• Collaborate with the UTMB Office of Innovation to:
  • Evaluate and protect intellectual property
  • Advance patent filings
  • Develop licensing strategies
  • Structure commercialization pathways
• Identify revenue opportunities aligned with the Blue Zones Farms mission.

Financial Management & Cost Sharing

• Develop and manage annual operating budgets.
• Oversee cost-sharing processes consistent with the Agreement.
• Track staffing, research, commercialization, and space costs.
• Support quarterly invoicing processes related to shared expenses.
• Lead external grant submissions and sponsored research initiatives.

Partnerships & Community Engagement

• Develop strategic partnerships with industry, philanthropy, community organizations, and academic collaborators.
• Engage UTMB faculty as mentors, collaborators, and investigators.
• Coordinate with Blue Zones to leverage community-based field environments in Galveston.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration across clinical, research, public health, and innovation domains.
• Position Blue Zones Farms as a national leader in healthy longevity innovation.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Healthcare, Business Administration, Public Health or related field plus ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in healthcare, academic medicine, research administration, innovation, commercialization, public health, or a related field to include seven (7) years of leadership experience directing large-scale programs, institutes, centers, innovation initiatives, or business units.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary teams across clinical, research, academic, operational, and community-based environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Terminal degree (MD, PhD, DrPH, MBA, JD, PharmD, DNP, or equivalent) plus fifteen (15) years of leadership experience in an academic health system, clinical research environment, healthcare startup ecosystem, or public health organization.
• Seven (7) years of executive leadership experience in an academic health system or research-intensive organization.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Knowledge

• Population health management principles.
• Community health improvement strategies.
• Wellness and health promotion program design.
• Behavioral change methodologies.
• Healthcare and public health trends.
• Program evaluation and outcome measurement.

Skills

• Strategic planning and execution.
• Data analysis and interpretation.
• Relationship building and stakeholder engagement.
• Presentation and communication skills.
• Project and program management.
• Budget and resource management.

Abilities

• Influence without direct authority.
• Build consensus among diverse stakeholder groups.
• Lead large-scale organizational change initiatives.
• Translate strategic goals into measurable outcomes.
• Analyze complex issues and develop practical solutions.

Equal Employment Opportunity

UTMB Health strives to provide equal opportunity employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or any other basis protected by institutional policy or by federal, state or local laws unless such distinction is required by law. As a Federal Contractor, UTMB Health takes affirmative action to hire and advance protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.