Senior Scientist, Respiratory Discovery (Biology & Translational Models) Full-time

Senior Scientist

The Senior Scientist will join the Respiratory Biology Discovery group and contribute to target identification, target validation, translational biology, and mechanism-of-action studies supporting early discovery programs across chronic lung diseases, including COPD, bronchiectasis, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and inflammatory airway disorders.

The successful candidate will leverage advanced human-relevant in vitro, ex vivo, and tissue-engineered model systems to generate mechanistic and translational datasets that inform target prioritization and therapeutic strategy. Expertise in primary airway and alveolar epithelial biology, multicellular disease models, epithelial-stromal-immune interactions, tissue remodeling, regeneration, and biomarker discovery is highly desirable. The scientist will collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams spanning biology, bioengineering, computational biology, translational sciences, and clinical research.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design experimental strategies to interrogate epithelial, stromal, vascular, and immune-cell interactions driving chronic lung disease pathogenesis.
• Develop and apply disease‑relevant experimental systems, including primary airway epithelial cultures, air‑liquid interface (ALI) models, organoid systems, precision-cut lung slices (PCLS), and co-culture platforms.
• Generate mechanistic datasets to investigate epithelial dysfunction, tissue remodeling, fibrosis, immune responses, and regenerative biology in chronic lung diseases.
• Utilize imaging, transcriptomic, proteomic, and spatial profiling approaches to support target validation and translational hypothesis generation.
• Support translational biomarker discovery and validation using patient-derived samples and multiplex biomarker platforms (Luminex, Olink, AlphaLISA).
• Partner with computational biology and translational teams to integrate multi-omics datasets and identify disease-relevant pathways and biomarkers.
• Support evaluation of biologics, small molecules, and emerging therapeutic modalities using human disease-relevant model systems.
• Synthesize and interpret complex biological datasets to support target prioritization, mechanism-of-action studies, and portfolio decision-making.
• Collaborate closely across biology, pharmacology, DMPK, and translational and clinical teams within a matrixed discovery environment

Qualifications:

Education:

• Ph.D. in Biology, Immunology, Pulmonary Biology, Bioengineering, Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Regenerative Medicine or related discipline and relevant experience

Required Experience and Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in respiratory biology and human primary cell-based systems, including airway and/or alveolar epithelial models
• Strong experience with ALI cultures, organoids, co-culture systems, tissue-engineered models, organ-on-chip platforms, and/or precision-cut lung slices
• Experience in target validation and translational biology within respiratory, immunology, fibrosis, regeneration, or related therapeutic areas
• Expertise with imaging-based approaches including IHC, IF, ICC, confocal microscopy, high-content imaging, image analysis, and quantitative phenotyping
• Ability to independently design, execute, troubleshoot, and interpret complex experimental studies
• Strong scientific communication skills and ability to present findings in cross-functional settings

Preferred Experience and Skills:

• Prior experience in respiratory drug discovery, fibrosis, tissue remodeling, regenerative biology, or inflammatory lung disease research
• Experience with macrophage, fibroblast, epithelial, or immune-stromal co-culture systems
• Experience working with patient-derived respiratory tissues and primary human lung cells
• Familiarity with transcriptomic datasets including bulk RNA-seq and single-cell RNA-seq
• Experience with organoid biology, human tissue-based models, or spatial biology approaches
• Knowledge of translational biomarker strategies and human disease-relevant endpoints

Salary Range: $131,400.00 – $206,800.00

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs.

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.