Scientist, Preclinical Pharmacology - Therapeutic Area Expansion

Merck•Billerica, MA

About The Position

EMD Serono is hiring a Scientist II, Preclinical Pharmacology in Billerica, Massachusetts. Reporting to the Principal Scientist / Lab Head, this position independently executes in vivo pharmacology studies supporting programs across immunology, neuroscience, and other therapeutic areas. The role contributes to translational PK/PD and biomarker strategies and conducts disease-model studies across multiple therapeutic areas with a high degree of technical independence. The Scientist establishes, validates, optimizes, and troubleshoots fit-for-purpose acute and chronic in vivo disease models; evaluates efficacy; and generates target engagement, pharmacodynamic response, and translational pharmacology data packages. The role also performs in vivo procedures and assessments, coordinates external study execution, supports biomarker and translational data integration, and champions IACUC, AAALAC, and GLP compliance. The position does not offer work-authorization sponsorship; external applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.

Requirements

PhD in Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Immunology, Biology, Physiology, or another life science discipline and 4+ years of hands-on in vivo pharmacology experience; or a Master’s degree in one of these fields and 6+ years of experience; or a Bachelor’s degree in one of these fields and 8+ years of experience.
Demonstrated expertise in disease-model execution, relevant routes of administration, and translational PK/PD (listed under preferred qualifications).

Nice To Haves

Ph.D. in Reproductive Biology, Endocrinology, Pharmacology, Physiology, or Neuroendocrinology.
Demonstrated expertise in disease-model execution, relevant routes of administration, and translational PK/PD.
Experience developing and validating reproductive endocrine models, including superovulation, folliculogenesis, luteinisation, corpus luteum maintenance, and/or testicular steroidogenesis.
Significant experience in a pharmaceutical or biotech R&D environment.
Significant experience with protein-based and molecular biomarker assays, particularly flow cytometry, and including ELISA, MSD, cytokine/chemokine panels, target engagement markers, Olink, and NULISA.

Responsibilities

Establish, validate, optimize, and troubleshoot fit-for-purpose in vivo disease models, including acute and chronic models, to defined validation milestones and reproducibility criteria.
Build and apply disease models to evaluate efficacy across immunology, neuroscience, fertility, rare diseases, and other therapeutic areas under consideration.
Generate target engagement, pharmacodynamic response, and translational in vivo pharmacology packages for novel therapeutic approaches, delivering study-ready data on schedule and in compliance with protocols and quality standards.
Execute in vivo pharmacology studies, including dosing by IV, SC, IP, PO, ICV, and IT routes; blood and CSF sampling; tissue collection; and necropsy.
Perform and support surgical procedures for pharmacology assays, including surgical models, ICV/IT administration, stereotaxic injections, surgical recovery monitoring, and clinical scoring, and help define procedural and welfare standards.
Conduct broad, standardized assessments of functional, behavioral, and physiological endpoints across preclinical disease models.
Manage CRO partnerships and external study execution to maintain program timelines and scientific standards.
Champion IACUC, AAALAC, and GLP compliance across the in vivo function.
Execute target engagement marker assays, flow cytometry assays, and cytokine/chemokine assays; support histology/IHC coordination and integration of molecular endpoints.
Contribute to translational data packages by integrating PK, biomarker, and pharmacodynamic data under the direction of the Lab Head.