Merck & Co., Inc.
Executive Director, Licensing & External Research

Dr. Reid Leonard is Executive Director, External Research and Licensing for the Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Co., Inc. Reid's home base is Merck's research facility at 33 Avenue Louis Pasteur, in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, MA.

Reid's role is to identify partnering opportunities that fit with Merck's strategic research and development objectives in key franchise areas. Such opportunities may reside in universities, start-up companies, or established bio-pharma firms. He is one of several licensing "scouts" deployed by Merck to biomedical innovation clusters throughout the world. As part of Merck's global licensing team, the regional scouts build relationships, provide guidance on Merck's licensing interests, and serve as a local contact for companies and institutions with which Merck can collaborate to develop best-in-class therapeutics for serious unmet medical needs.

Dr. Leonard's research career in neuroscience and cell physiology began while an undergraduate at Brandeis University. Reid subsequently earned a Ph.D. in biology from Purdue University and completed postdoctoral training in molecular pharmacology at Caltech. He joined Merck in 1989 to carry out basic and discovery research on ion channels and moved into the licensing organization in 1998. Since that time, Reid has held a variety of positions contributing to the identification, scientific assessment, and execution of academic and biotech partnerships for Merck & Co., Inc.