Senior Research Scientist- Internal Medicine Physiologist and Early Project Lead

Elanco • Indianapolis, IN

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals! As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People. At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights. Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today! Your Role: Senior Scientist (R2) - Internal Medicine Physiologist and Early Project Lead As a Senior Scientist in the Mechanistic Biology team, you will help advance innovative therapies for companion and farm animals by applying expertise in disease biology, physiology, and translational research. This role is ideal for a scientifically curious and collaborative researcher who enjoys integrating clinical insight, experimental biology, and emerging technologies to better understand disease mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities. In this non-lab-based role, you will work closely with cross-functional scientists to design and interpret studies that inform therapeutic target selection, translational strategy, safety assessment, biomarker development, and early therapeutic development. You will help identify and prioritize biologically meaningful therapeutic targets, refine therapeutic approaches using biological, pharmacologic, and translational evidence, and improve confidence in therapeutic safety and biological relevance before clinical development. We welcome candidates from academia, translational research, clinical specialty training programs, and industry. Scientists with experience leading independent research programs, clinical trials, comparative medicine studies, or translational biology initiatives are strongly encouraged to apply. Many successful scientists in this type of role have backgrounds in academic medicine, veterinary specialty training, translational research, physiology, comparative medicine, or biomedical research environments. We value scientific rigor, curiosity, collaboration, and the ability to integrate complex biological information across disciplines.

Requirements

• DVM with advanced specialty training in internal medicine and/or PhD in veterinary physiology, comparative medicine, translational biology, biomedical sciences, or a related field.
• Experience studying naturally occurring or experimental disease biology in veterinary or biomedical research settings.
• Candidates with expertise in companion animal medicine, comparative medicine, translational physiology, internal medicine, or related fields are encouraged to apply.
• Demonstrated ability to design, lead, or interpret hypothesis-driven research in a collaborative scientific environment.
• Ability to integrate complex biological, physiological, clinical, and experimental data to inform scientific decisions.
• Experience with biomolecular, translational, or mechanistic research approaches, such as flow cytometry, transcriptomics, proteomics, biomarker development, diagnostic strategies, or related methods.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex scientific concepts to cross-functional partners.

Nice To Haves

• DVM boarded in internal medicine with a PhD in physiology, comparative medicine, translational biology, or a related field.
• Experience in pharmaceutical or biotechnology research, or a strong record of independent academic or translational research productivity.
• Previous fellowship, post-doctoral, clinical specialty, or comparative medicine research experience.
• Experience designing, leading, or contributing to clinical trials, translational research studies, animal model studies, or naturally occurring disease investigations.
• Interest in translational therapeutic development and willingness to learn drug development principles in a collaborative environment.
• Working knowledge of statistical principles, biomarker strategy, diagnostic development, or emerging technologies such as AI and New Approach Methodologies.
• Demonstrated proficiency in immunology, physiology, internal medicine, or disease mechanism research.
• Experience collaborating across disciplines, influencing without direct authority, and contributing to scientific strategy in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong scientific curiosity, drive, and ability to execute efficiently while balancing rigor, quality, and practical decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Lead or contribute to translational research strategies aimed at understanding disease biology and advancing novel therapeutic approaches in companion and farm animal medicine.
• Identify and prioritize biologically meaningful therapeutic targets using physiological, clinical, mechanistic, and translational evidence.
• Apply mechanistic and translational thinking to evaluate therapeutic opportunities, biological risks, and potential safety considerations.
• Develop and apply biomarker, diagnostic, and translational research approaches that improve understanding of disease progression and therapeutic response.
• Serve as a scientific subject matter expert in physiology, disease mechanisms, and translational interpretation of animal studies.
• Collaborate across research disciplines to advance early-stage therapeutic programs from biological concept through translational evaluation.
• Partner with internal teams and external collaborators to support study design, interpretation of results, scientific documentation, and progression recommendations.
• Support high-quality scientific execution while ensuring appropriate documentation, animal welfare principles, and compliance with applicable regulatory expectations, including GLP/GxP where relevant.

Benefits

• Multiple relocation packages
• Two weeklong shutdowns (mid-summer and year-end) in the US (in addition to PTO)
• 8-week parental leave
• 9 Employee Resource Groups
• Annual bonus offering
• Flexible work arrangements
• Up to 6% 401K matching
• company bonus (depending partly on company and individual performance)
• company-matching 401(k)
• vacation benefits
• eligibility for medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug benefits
• flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts)
• life insurance and death benefits
• certain time off and leave of absence benefits
• well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior