Postdoctoral Research in the Savic Integrative Pharmacology Laboratory.
Background: The research laboratory of Dr. Rada Savic in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is engaged in groundbreaking drug development projects for infectious diseases including tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, and COVID-19 as well as pain management and autoimmune disease with a focus on identifying optimal treatment regimens. We develop and apply disease models, perform pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations, build physiology-based pharmacokinetic models, conduct exposure-response analyses, and utilize model-based simulations with the ultimate goal to optimize treatment in adult and pediatric patient populations. While pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic concepts and advanced quantitative clinical pharmacology principles have been integrated into the clinical development of compounds across many therapeutic areas, human dose prediction and early clinical evaluation of the efficacy and safety of candidate molecules for infectious diseases remains empirical. Innovative approaches are required to enable effective translation of nonclinical data, providing insight into the selection of rational treatment combinations and optimized clinical trial designs. The Savic Lab is seeking experienced researchers and scholars of exceptional promise for postdoctoral fellow positions in interdisciplinary research with expertise in the methods and theory of statistics, data science, applied mathematics and pharmacometrics or related fields (e.g., pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, quantitative pharmacology, systemic pharmacology, computational biology). As a part of the Savic lab, you will develop innovative models that integrate new data and/or new experiments, implement new mathematical and statistical techniques and approaches, and contribute to establishing pharmacometric capabilities and infrastructure (e.g., lead the development of tools for recurrent and consistent analysis, develop guidance documents and standards of practice). In addition to these roles, the postdoctoral fellow will have opportunities to teach and supervise graduate students, write scientific papers, present research findings at international conferences, and write and submit grant applications. Pharmacometrics is an emerging discipline that uses mathematical and statistical tools to quantify drug, disease, and trial information to aid efficient drug development and regulatory decisions. It designs and applies mathematical models to describe the relationship between drug exposure (pharmacokinetics) and response (pharmacodynamics) for both desired and undesired effects and aims to include in such models, the effects of individual patient characteristics with the ultimate goal to give the right drug at the right dose to the right patient at the right time. Dr. Savic’s Pharmacometrics Team has established translational and clinical drug development expertise across many disease areas and is active internationally enjoying impactful collaborations and exchange programs with the most renowned clinical trial networks and modelling groups worldwide. Required skills: In addition to enthusiasm, motivation and independent thinking, candidates must have a working knowledge of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling and simulation, including some advanced statistical principles (nonlinear mixed effects modelling, Bayesian statistics, clinical trial simulations). Strong programming skills in R, Metlab or Python and experience in NONMEM are essential. Knowledge of drug development, high-performance computing, and dynamic modeling are preferred. Ideal candidates will have a passion about scientific research with the willingness and ability to learn and integrate knowledge from across different therapeutic areas. Personal skills such as teamwork, accurate listening, strategic thinking, along with very good oral and written English language skills will be critical for the successful candidates. Post-doctoral research fellow candidates should have completed or obtained a PhD in a relevant discipline such as statistics, data science, applied mathematics, pharmacometrics or related fields (eg pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, quantitative pharmacology, systemic pharmacology, computational biology), and have published their research in a peer reviewed journal. The successful candidates will be co-located with the modeling team in Savic Laboratory on the Mission Bay campus of UCSF. Salary is commensurate with experience. E-mail a curriculum vitae, a letter stating research interests and contact information for three references to: [email protected] and [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. Deadline for applications: 18 November 2021. UC San Francisco seeks candidates whose experience, teaching, research, or community service that has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. Best regards, Craig Shaffer Director, Strategy and Operations Savic Integrative Pharmacology Research Laboratory Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences<https://bts.ucsf.edu/> Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine University of California, San Francisco E-mail: [email protected]
