He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then completed residency training in clinical pathology, fellowship training in molecular genetic pathology and clinical cytogenetics, and post-doctoral training in cancer genomics at Stanford University. Dr. Merker is one of two co-directors of the Stanford Clinical Genomics Service, a clinical laboratory service based at Stanford University Medical Center. This goal of this clinical service is to use genome sequencing to identify the potential genetic cause of disease in patients with unexplained heritable disorders. Dr. Merker also directs a research group that uses classical genetics, genomics, and functional studies to study blood cancers.