Senior Scientist, Pharmacology

MSD

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Nonclinical Drug Safety (NDS) division at our company is seeking a motivated and talented in vitro pharmacologist/physiologist with experience in the development and characterization of Novel Alternative Methods (NAMs) to support nonclinical safety pharmacology and functional toxicity assessments. The Safety & Exploratory Pharmacology department (SEP) collaborates with our discovery research, preclinical, and clinical development partners to identify and develop effective, safe therapeutics. To that end, SEP utilizes a purposeful blend of standard screening tools, regulatory-enabling assays, fit for purpose capabilities and forward-looking innovative solutions to understand potential major organ system pharmacodynamic risk and influence drug development strategy. To enhance that mission, we are looking for a PhD level individual contributor that will complement existing areas, expand the team’s expertise, help drive future innovation, and influence the external scientific and regulatory community. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in the development and application of NAMs (ex: Complex In Vitro Models, Organ-on-a-chip, or Tissue Engineered Models, or Organoids) that use functional endpoints to characterize effects of new molecular entities. The individual also will possess the attributes and interest to expand their career toward a broader strategic Nonclinical Drug Safety role. This may include future development toward opportunities in management/leadership roles within SEP and/or as the nonclinical safety lead on discovery or clinical development programs.

Requirements

• PhD with 2+ years relevant post-degree experience in the development, execution and interpretation of in vitro exploratory or regulated nonclinical safety pharmacology/toxicology models.
• Ability to work both within teams as a contributor or as a team lead to drive collaborations across departments that deliver current needs and future capabilities.
• Development and/or utilization of exploratory hIPSC-derived models with a focus on functional, medium-throughput (plate-based) safety pharmacology endpoints to enable issue-driven resolution and complement preclinical candidate selection and development.
• Willingness and ability to investigate, develop and implement new technologies and capabilities to improve existing techniques and assays.
• Experience with the maintenance and culture of recombinant mammalian cell lines, iPSC-derived cells, and/or liquid handling.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in ion channel electrophysiology and its practical application in standard screening, regulatory required studies, and/or investigative models to understand potential effects of major organ systems.
• Prior experience working in a multidisciplinary environment within the Pharmaceutical Industry, Regulatory Agencies, or Academic Institutions.
• Willingness to influence safety pharmacology science and the broader regulatory landscape through active participation in external consortiums, publications, and presentations at key scientific conferences.
• Working knowledge of plate-based imaging assays and data analysis; proficiency in high content imaging and phenotypic in vitro assay development, multi-parametric computational image analysis, QC, visualization and computational modeling.
• Experience or familiarity with biostatistics, programming languages (examples Python or R), and/or data visualization tools.

Benefits

• The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days.
• More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree