Ingemar Merkies studied medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (cum laude) and completed his neurology training at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. Additionally, he pursued specialized training in Rasch methodology at Leeds University, UK. He currently works as a neurologist at Sint Elisabeth Hospital in Willemstad, Curaçao, and is affiliated with Maastricht UMC+ as a special professor for scientific research.

His research focuses primarily on clinimetrics. He has organized various international workshops, contributing to the establishment of a consensus on the minimal set of outcome measures required for future studies in patients with immune-mediated neuropathy. Another key research area involves painful neuropathy and small fiber neuropathy. He co-leads research into the relationship between sodium channel mutations and small fiber neuropathy. This research is conducted in close collaboration with Yale University (Prof. Dr. S.G. Waxman) and the Carlo Besta Institute in Milan (Prof. Dr. G. Lauria).