2027 Future Talent Program - Translational Modeling Group - Intern

Job Description

The Future Talent Program features internships that last up to 12 weeks and will include one or more projects. These opportunities in our Research and Development Division can provide you with great development and a chance to see if we are the right company for your long-term goals.

The Pharmacokinetics, Dynamics, Metabolism, and Bioanalytics (PDMB) - Translational Modeling Group is seeking a highly motivated Intern to join our group to advance translational science. This internship will develop a foundational juvenile animal Physiological Based Pharmacokinetics (PBPK) model with AI-enabled workflow capabilities to inform exposure-based dose selection and support interpretation and design of juvenile toxicity studies. The Intern will have an opportunity to build new tools and knowledge assets for drug discovery. This internship provides an opportunity to work alongside scientists supporting preclinical and clinical development programs while gaining experience in MIDD and safety assessment.

Project Overview:
Juvenile animal toxicity studies are frequently required to support pediatric drug development. However, selection of appropriate doses in juvenile animals can be challenging because physiological maturation, enzyme and transporter ontogeny, and developmental changes may significantly alter drug exposure compared with adults. Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling offers a mechanistic framework to take these characteristics into account to predict juvenile animal exposures and inform juvenile toxicology study design.

The project will expose the Intern to modern Model-Informed Drug Development (MIDD) methodologies while developing computational, scientific communication, and data-analysis skills relevant to pharmaceutical research. This internship will systematically assemble available knowledge and translate it into a usable modeling framework, creating a foundational juvenile PBPK model. This internship will be coached by both a Toxicokinetics (TK) scientist and PBPK modeling scientist, to ensure the success of this internship.

Primary Responsibilities

• Build juvenile animal PBPK model

• Develop reusable AI-enabled knowledge-generation workflows

• Generate durable resources that support future juvenile toxicity studies

• Prepare technical summaries and presentations of project progress

• Present project outcomes at the end-of-summer intern symposium

Required Education

• Currently pursuing Master's, or Ph.D. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacology, Toxicology, Biomedical Engineering, Systems Biology, Computational Biology, Quantitative Biology, or a related discipline.

Required Skills

• The candidate must have experience in any of the following: PBPK modeling, mechanistic modeling, systems pharmacology, mathematical modeling and simulation.

• The candidate must be able to conduct comprehensive literature searches, extract quantitative parameters from publications, summarize scientific findings clearly, analyze and interpret data with graph generation as needed.

• Candidates must be available to work full-time for up to (12) consecutive weeks beginning in May or June of 2027

Preferred Skills

• Experience in building PBPK models

• Experience with using any following tools: Simcyp, GastroPlus, PK-Sim, MATLAB, R, etc.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Effective verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to work independently and within a team environment.

Learning Opportunities

The intern will gain exposure to:

• Use of PBPK software and/or modeling platforms

• Juvenile animal PBPK modeling

• Model calibration, sensitivity analysis, and evaluation

• Applying AI tools to scientific research

• Knowledge of Safety Assessment

Expected Deliverables

• A proof-of-concept juvenile PBPK model incorporating proprietary compound information to evaluate dose selection strategies

• Completion of a scientific review document describing key considerations for juvenile toxicity study dose selection using publicly available literature resources

• Oral presentation describing project objectives, methodology, results, and recommendations.

Please note that this position may be closed before the posted end date or may remain open longer, at the discretion of the company.

Salary range:
The salary range for this role is $39,108 through $111,111.

FTP2027

RL2027

Required Skills:

Preferred Skills:

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

US and Puerto Rico Residents Only:

Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.  For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit:

EEOC Know Your Rights

EEOC GINA Supplement​

We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively.

Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts

San Francisco Residents Only: We will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment in compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Los Angeles Residents Only: We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully 
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company.  No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails. 

Employee Status:

Relocation:

VISA Sponsorship:

Travel Requirements:

Flexible Work Arrangements:

Shift:

Valid Driving License:

Hazardous Material(s):

Job Posting End Date:

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

Requisition ID:R413058