Amid a large scandal in a state drug lab, Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach resigned this week and will take a position at Northeastern in November.

University spokeswoman Lucy Warsh said Auerbach will work as a faculty member in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences. She said Auerbach will be a distinguished professor of practice and will serve as director of the Institute on Urban Health Research.

According to its website, the Institute is devoted to understanding and improving personal and public health in urban areas.

Warsh declined to comment on when the university began negotiating the position with Auerbach, saying she was not authorized to speak on personnel matters.

The Department of Public Health has been roiled by controversy in recent weeks after allegations surfaced that a chemist who worked at a drug lab in Jamaica Plain mishandled evidence. The Boston Globe reported that the chemist, Annie Dookhan, may have worked with 60,000 samples in 34,000 cases, according to State Police. Many drug convictions could be at risk because of the scandal.

Auerbach on Wednesday said he did not accept responsibility “for the actions of a rogue chemist,” according to the Associated Press, but also acknowledged that he was the top official in the department.

-News Staff