Director/Sr. Director – Women’s Health, Osteoporosis,

About the role

The Senior Director – Osteoporosis, Women’s Health position at Lilly is seeking an experienced discovery leader to help build a portfolio of transformative therapies for women's health. This role offers the opportunity to shape strategy, drive impactful drug discovery and development programs, and contribute to Lilly's mission of scientific excellence and patient-centered care.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and lead an innovative lab focused on novel approaches to identify and validate targets/pathways for osteoporosis.
• Bring novel, high potential targets into the pipeline for therapeutic approaches for the treatment of osteoporosis.
• Define and implement the preclinical discovery strategy for osteoporosis, including target discovery, validation and prioritization frameworks, experimental approaches, and decision criteria.
• Drive portfolio prioritization, articulating differentiation, risk, and alignment with clinical and regulatory expectations.
• Build and evolve preclinical and translational capabilities (internal and external) to support execution of the strategy.
• Identify and shape external opportunities, including academic collaborations, CRO partnerships, and business development opportunities.
• Ensure alignment of osteoporosis strategy with broader Women’s Health and musculoskeletal portfolio objectives.
• Lead osteoporosis discovery programs, driving target identification, validation, and progression of therapeutic candidates.
• Design and implement end-to-end experimental strategies across in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo systems.
• Generate decision-enabling data to support program advancement and portfolio decisions.
• Define and implement translational approaches linking mechanisms to clinical outcomes, including biomarker strategies and PK/PD relationships.
• Ensure preclinical programs are designed to enable clear clinical differentiation, incorporating relevant endpoints such as bone density, bone strength, and microarchitecture.
• Serve as biology lead on cross-functional teams, partnering closely with colleagues across function.
• Influence decision-making and problem-solving to accelerate program progression.
• Lead and manage strategic collaborations with CROs and academic partners.
• Maintain scientific leadership through publications, presentations, and external engagement in osteoporosis and skeletal biology.
• Directly recruit and supervise scientists and provide mentoring, performance management and career development.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a relevant subject area
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in academia, industry or related field

Additional Preferences

• Deep expertise in osteoporosis and skeletal biology, including bone remodeling
• 10 years' experience after post doc training
• Demonstrated success in drug discovery, from target identification through preclinical development
• Proven track record of shaping discovery strategy and influencing portfolio decisions
• Strong experience with preclinical in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models for osteoporosis
• Experience building new capabilities, platforms, or external collaborations
• Strong cross-functional leadership and scientific communication skills
• Passion for advancing innovative therapies addressing unmet needs in women's health