Distinguished Research Scientist
Robert M. Merion, MD, FACS, is a Distinguished Research Scientist. He served as the third President and CEO of Arbor Research Collaborative for Health from 2009 to 2021. Throughout his research career, he has focused on the intersection between medical practice and high-quality study design and data analytics. He has been the principal investigator of four National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded scientific and data coordinating centers (DCCs) and currently leads the DCC for the Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) and the Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN). He also conducts research on living organ donors (National Living Donor Assistance Center). From 2000 to 2010, Dr. Merion was the clinical transplant director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-funded Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Prior to joining Arbor Research, Dr. Merion was a kidney, pancreas, and liver transplant surgeon for 32 years at the University of Michigan (UM), where his positions included Chief of the Division of Transplantation and Director of the UM Transplant Center. He was elected the 36th president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons from 2009 to 2010. He retired from clinical practice in 2014 and is now Professor Emeritus of Surgery at UM. Dr. Merion has published over 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters.
