Advisor / Senior Advisor, Cardiovascular NAMs – Investigative Toxicology

BioSpace; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 129,000 - 211,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company bonus

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Lilly is seeking a scientist to anchor cardiovascular NAMs within the Investigative Toxicology group. The role emphasizes hiPSC models, 3D cardiovascular platforms, and translatable readouts to assess drug-induced liabilities across the cardiovascular system.

Ideal candidates hold a PhD with 2+ years postdoc/industry experience in advanced cardiovascular in vitro models, and will collaborate across internal and external partners to advance safety pharmacology and translational science.

Qualifications

• PhD with training in cardiac biology or cardiovascular electrophysiology.

Responsibilities

• Develop human-relevant in vitro cardiovascular models.
• Design mechanistic studies on proarrhythmia and cardiomyopathy.
• Implement electrophysiological and contractile readouts (MEA, calcium, sarcomere assays).
• Utilize 3D platforms (EHTs/COs) for chronic dosing studies.
• Collaborate with CROs and internal teams on study design and data quality.
• Engage in pre-competitive consortia and publish externally.

Skills

hiPSC-CM differentiation

MEA-based proarrhythmia

3D EHT functional assessment

Endothelial cell/vessel-on-a-chip

collaborative teamwork

Education

PhD in Pharmacology/Physiology/Toxicology

2+ years postdoc/industry experience

leadership experience

Tools

MEA systems

3D CIVM platforms

Ca2+ imaging

Job description

At Lilly, the work is demanding because patients are waiting. We unite caring with discovery to help make life better for people around the world, knowing that every decision, every detail, and every day matters. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, our over 50,000 employees around the globe take on complex challenges to discover and deliver life-changing medicines, strengthen how health is understood and managed, and support the communities we serve. This is hard, urgent, selfless work—but it’s work worth doing. If you’re driven by purpose and ready to bring your best to work that truly matters for patients, we invite you to join us.

Position Overview

We are seeking a scientist to join the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)/Complex In Vitro Models (CIVMs) pillar within Lilly’s Investigative Toxicology group. This individual contributor, primarily laboratory-based role sits within an integrated group where in vitro and in vivo safety science operate under a single leadership, enabling seamless translational science across the drug discovery continuum.

The successful candidate will anchor Lilly’s cardiovascular safety NAMs capability – crafting, qualifying, and applying sophisticated human-relevant in vitro models to detect, characterize, and mechanistically understand compound-induced liabilities across the full cardiovascular system. Liabilities of primary interest span cardiac and vascular biology: proarrhythmia and ion channel perturbation, drug-induced cardiomyopathy (structural and functional), mitochondrial cardiotoxicity, contractile dysfunction, drug-induced vascular injury (DIVI), and endothelial dysfunction. The role demands scientific depth in cardiac electrophysiology/biology and vascular biology, a mechanistic safety attitude, and the aim to advance cardiovascular CIVM science internally and externally.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop expertise across, and take primary responsibility for qualifying and applying, human-relevant in vitro models for cardiovascular liability assessment, including hiPSC-CMs, hiPSC-derived endothelial cells (hiPSC-ECs), 2D electrophysiological monolayer systems, 3D EHTs, cardiac organoids (COs), and vessel-on-a-chip models; the precise platform mix will reflect the candidate’s existing strengths with expectation to broaden across the cardiovascular CIVM portfolio over time.
• Design and complete mechanistic investigations into compound-induced liabilities including proarrhythmia, QT/AP prolongation, structural cardiomyopathy, mitochondrial cardiotoxicity, DIVI, and endothelial dysfunction and barrier disruption.
• Implement and qualify electrophysiological and contractile readouts for cardiac safety including MEA field potential recordings, calcium flux imaging, sarcomere shortening/contractility assays, and impedance-based platforms; adopt emerging technologies that improve sensitivity, specificity, and translational relevance within the CiPA framework and beyond.
• Apply 3D cardiovascular platforms – including EHTs or COs – for mechanistic studies and chronic dosing paradigms that gather structural cardiotoxicity and vascular injury endpoints not resolved by electrophysiology alone.
• Serve as the primary scientific resource for project teams conducting follow‑on in vitro investigations for cardiovascular safety.
• Collaborate with Lilly’s in silico ADMET Intelligence group to integrate computational cardiovascular liability predictions with in vitro mechanistic data, building tiered decision frameworks for project teams.
• Evaluate emerging cardiovascular NAMs technologies – including multi‑organ liver‑heart MPS for metabolism‑mediated cardiotoxicity, AI/ML‑assisted imaging, and transcriptomic mechanism‑of‑injury profiling – and recommend platforms for adoption.
• Serve as scientific point of contact for CROs and academic partners conducting cardiovascular NAMs work on Lilly’s behalf, coordinating study design, data quality, and deliverable standards.
• Maintain awareness of regulatory and consortium developments relevant to cardiovascular safety pharmacology; participate in pre‑competitive consortia (IQ-MPS, HESI cardiovascular safety initiatives); publish and present externally.

Minimum Requirements

• PhD in Pharmacology, Physiology, Biomedical Engineering, Toxicology, or a closely related field with training in cardiac biology, vascular biology, or cardiovascular electrophysiology.
• Advisor (R5): PhD with 2+ years postdoctoral or industry experience with direct hands‑on work in advanced cardiovascular in vitro models.
• Senior Advisor (R6): PhD with 5+ years postdoctoral or industry experience with a track record of independent scientific contribution, model qualification, and leadership.
• Hands‑on experience with at least one of the following: (1) hiPSC‑CM differentiation and functional characterization applied to cardiac safety or mechanistic questions; (2) MEA‑based proarrhythmia liability assessment (APD and FPD detection) within or aligned to the CiPA paradigm; (3) 3D EHT functional assessment (contractility, calcium handling, electromechanical coupling); or (4) Endothelial cell or vessel‑on‑a‑chip in vitro models to characterize DIVI, vascular inflammation, or barrier disruption endpoints.
• Experience independently designing and implementing experiments, manage concurrent projects, and prioritize under drug discovery timelines.

Additional Skills / Preferences

• Familiarity with the CiPA paradigm, ICH S7B/E14 Q&A framework, or FDA ISTAND NAMs qualification pathways for cardiovascular safety pharmacology.
• Experience with human vascular wall microfluidic models incorporating EC‑smooth muscle cell bilayers under physiological shear stress for DIVI screening is also a plus.
• Strong written and oral communication skills evidenced by peer‑reviewed publications and/or conference presentations.
• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed, cross‑functional drug discovery environment.
• Knowledge of high‑content imaging, AI/ML‑assisted phenotypic classification, or transcriptomic profiling (bulk or scRNA‑seq) to define mechanism‑of‑injury signatures in cardiovascular models.
• Experience with cardio‑oncology compound assessment using hiPSC‑CM or EHT platforms to evaluate both electrophysiological and structural/mitochondrial cardiotoxicity endpoints.
• Experience mentoring junior scientists or leading project‑embedded scientific activities.

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia (AMECA), Black Employees at Lilly (BE@Lilly), Chinese Culture Network (CCN), EnAble, Evolve, Lilly Indian Network (LIN), Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), Pride (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN) and Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL).

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location. The anticipated wage for this position is $129,000 - $211,200.

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company‑sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well‑being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities). Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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