Eric Parker, Ph.D.
Eric Parker received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy and his Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in the laboratory of Dr. Elliott Ross. In 1991, Eric joined the Department of CNS Biology at Bristol-Myers Squibb where he worked on in vitro assay development and led a cross-functional effort to identify and develop new targets for obesity and metabolic disease. In 1996, Eric moved to Schering-Plough and in 2009 joined Merck upon the Merck/Schering-Plough merger.
During his 20+ year career at Schering-Plough and Merck, Eric held roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately becoming Executive Director, Neuroscience Site Lead and Distinguished Scientist. He led groups of 30-40 scientists involved in discovery and early development in the areas of neurodegenerative disease, psychiatric disease, obesity, metabolic disease and supportive cancer care. During this time, Eric’s groups delivered 11 compounds into clinical development, including the BACE inhibitor verubecestat for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (Phase 3), the marketed NK1 antagonist rolapitant (Varubi®) for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and the A2A antagonist preladenant for the treatment of cancer (Phase 2). He led or was a member of several early and late stage development teams and spearheaded a multi-year translational science initiative within Merck. Since retiring from Merck in 2016, Eric consults with clients in the areas of neuroscience, metabolic disease, and translation of targets and molecules from preclinical to clinical development.
Eric has published over 95 scientific articles and has lectured extensively about his work at scientific conferences, academic institutions and biotech/pharma companies. He has also been a member of several scientific advisory boards, including those for Keystone Symposia, the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ANDI) and the Rutgers Brain Health Institute. Dr. Parker was chosen to be a Merck Presidential Fellow in 2010 and was awarded the Research and Hope Award by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association in 2012 for his work on Alzheimer’s disease.
During his 20+ year career at Schering-Plough and Merck, Eric held roles of increasing responsibility, ultimately becoming Executive Director, Neuroscience Site Lead and Distinguished Scientist. He led groups of 30-40 scientists involved in discovery and early development in the areas of neurodegenerative disease, psychiatric disease, obesity, metabolic disease and supportive cancer care. During this time, Eric’s groups delivered 11 compounds into clinical development, including the BACE inhibitor verubecestat for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (Phase 3), the marketed NK1 antagonist rolapitant (Varubi®) for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and the A2A antagonist preladenant for the treatment of cancer (Phase 2). He led or was a member of several early and late stage development teams and spearheaded a multi-year translational science initiative within Merck. Since retiring from Merck in 2016, Eric consults with clients in the areas of neuroscience, metabolic disease, and translation of targets and molecules from preclinical to clinical development.
Eric has published over 95 scientific articles and has lectured extensively about his work at scientific conferences, academic institutions and biotech/pharma companies. He has also been a member of several scientific advisory boards, including those for Keystone Symposia, the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ANDI) and the Rutgers Brain Health Institute. Dr. Parker was chosen to be a Merck Presidential Fellow in 2010 and was awarded the Research and Hope Award by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association in 2012 for his work on Alzheimer’s disease.