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Biostatistics and Research
Decision Sciences
(BARDS)

Using quantitative science to impact human health

Biostatistics and Research Decision Sciences (BARDS) is a highly distinguished department within Merck’s renowned Research & Development Division. As esteemed members of world-class drug and vaccine development teams, we partner with other disciplines in the strategic design of our discovery and development programs and provide statistical analysis, reporting, and data interpretation to enable informed decision-making.

700
Employees in biostatistics and statistical programming

13
American Statistical Association Fellows

3
Regions across the globe

1
Highly rewarding, highly impactful career

80+

Years of excellence


We were the first company in the pharmaceutical industry to have a dedicated statistics department

 12 areas of collaboration and expertise 
  • Drug discovery
  • Translational medicine and biomarkers
  • Clinical pharmacology
  • Clinical development (products in oncology, vaccines, neuroscience, diabetes, cardiovascular health, infectious diseases, respiratory health, and immunology)
  • Safety monitoring
  • Health technology assessment
  • Manufacturing
  • Analysis and reporting standards
  • Data standards
  • Information technology
  • Health Economics
  • Epidemiology


Our aspiration is to be the leader in quantitative scientific methodology and its application to enable the targeting, discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of innovative products for the benefit of global human health.
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Interact
With top scientists, regulators, and payers worldwide.
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Investigate
The roles of precision medicine, real-world evidence, machine learning, and programming automation in drug development.
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Integrate
Statistical expertise with scientific advances, operational excellence, and exceptional medical knowledge.

How can you contribute?

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Bring your inventive mind
  • Conduct research on statistical methodology
  • Apply statistical excellence daily in the development of innovative medicines and vaccines
  • Develop cutting-edge programming solutions to expedite analysis work and speed patient access to new medicines
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Make an impact
  • Directly contribute to the development of life-saving and health preserving medicines and vaccines
  • Demonstrate leadership within your field and on cross-disciplinary teams
  • Fuel the company's forward momentum
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Share the journey
  • Let our rich history, world-class scientists, and future plans inspire you
  • Inspire others with your energy, creativity, teamwork, and dedication
  • Mentor the next generation of biostatistics and research sciences professionals

A career experience like no other, inspired by science
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Inside views from people on our team​​​​​​​

Everyone in our Biostatistics and Research Decision Sciences team is passionate about wanting to improve global human health, and that passion is on display every day through our teamwork and innovation.
Devan Mehrotra
VP Early Development Statistics, BARDS
With our strong focus on methodological research, our Biostatistics and Research Decision Sciences team will continue to play a crucial role in our Research Labs decision-making far into the future.
Ray Bain
SVP, BARDS
This field of clinical statistical assessment in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is rapidly growing and expanding in methodological complexity and geographic scale, so it’s exciting to be at the technical and managerial forefront of an area that is all about trying to improve public health.
Ann Houseman
Lara Wolfson
Executive Director Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Statistics, BARDS
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This careers website is intended for Residents of the United States, Canada & Puerto Rico. Residents in other markets, please visit our MSD Careers page. Information on this site is for the purpose of presenting career opportunities at our organization and give our audience a view of our culture, diversity and growth opportunities. Our Company is an equal opportunity employer, Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran, proudly embracing diversity in all of its manifestations.