Distinguished Scientist
Novartis Pharma AG
Even thought I got my doctorate degree in University of California, Berkely under professor Erich Lehmann, I am an applied Bayesian Statistician - it is hard to say what is my specific area of research interest – since I have worked across all therapeutic areas where I could apply my scientific skills in healthcare.
I worked for 38 years in the pharmaceutical industry, from phase I to phase IV study designs. This included traditional designs, Bayesian adaptive designs to platform and basket designs. I enjoyed all of them.
I also worked quite extensively on pre-clinical studies, bioassays for quality control, in addition I worked more than a decade in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PKPD) modelling. I learnt a lot from my clinical colleagues and found these fields fascinating – especially when we could apply quantitative methods in clinical pharmacology to improve the efficiency of drug development and benefit patients.
During my 3 years working as a volunteer statistician for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation I worked on designing studies for low- and middle- income countries. During the COVID lockdown, I worked with my colleagues at the University of Edinburgh to understand the impact of lockdown to pre-term birth around the world. It led to the application of interrupted time series and meta-analysis methods.
Recently I tried to model the relationship of tumor biomarkers and its impact on efficacy of anti-cancer therapies.
I found all the fields I work in exciting and challenging, as long as the problem at hand is new and difficult for me , I am interested.
I am honored to receive the Sheiner – Beal Pharmacometrics Award. Lewis and Stuart are 2 colleagues who I knew personally and deeply respect their seminal contributions to our discipline; they have huge impact on my personal development on modelling.
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Sheiner-Beal Pharmacometrics Award Lecture
Thursday, March 28, 2024
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM MDT