The VU Graduate Program in Chemistry and the BRET Office of Career Development ASPIRE Program is excited to welcome Merck to campus for an Employer Information Session.<\/p>\n
Brandon A. Vara, PhD Following completion of my undergraduate studies in Chemistry at James Madison University in Virginia, I enrolled in Vanderbilt’s Chemistry PhD program, ultimately defending my thesis in enantioselective organocatalysis and small molecule synthesis from Jeff Johnston\u2019s group in 2015. After completing my postdoctoral studies in Nickel\/Photoredox catalysis with Gary Molander at the University of Pennsylvania, I started my career in Discovery Chemistry at Merck Boston in 2017 where I have been ever since. I have had the privilege to work across disease areas including oncology and neuroscience, and several programs have advanced molecules into human clinical development.<\/em><\/p>\n David Westover, PhD David is a Senior Scientist with the Analytical Research & Development group at Merck. He completed his post-doctoral work at VUMC with Christine Lovly. Collaborating with other VU and VUMC labs, David and colleagues identified novel mechanisms of resistance to osimertinib, an FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor and first-line therapy in lung cancer patients with an EGFR-activating mutation, and published strategies to circumvent that resistance. Prior to his role at Merck, he served as a Staff Scientist in the Vanderbilt High-Throughput Screening Facility where he developed and automated large-scale chemical screens and biological assays.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Merck departments being represented include Discovery Chemistry, Informatics, Analytical Chemistry,\u00a0Pharmaceutical Sciences and Analytical R&D.\u00a0 They have recently hired PhDs with expertise in a variety of fields including immunology, neurology, mass spec, hemodynamics, oncology, organic chemistry, informatics, and mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n Representatives who will be visiting are all VU PhD or Postdoc alums and are primarily recruiting for\u00a0West Point, PA (near Philly); Union County, NJ (near NYC); and Boston, MA locations.<\/p>\n Join us on July 27 to learn more from Merck:<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Associate Principal Scientist, Discovery Chemistry<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Sr. Scientist, Analytical Research & Development<\/p>\n