It is sad to learn about Dr Tom Ludden’s demise. I would like to share my INTERACTION with him.
$THETA Our initial meeting happened when I was at Georgetown University, Washington DC and he was with ICON (or its precursor). If I remember correctly, Dr Carl Peck encouraged Dr Ludden to join the FDA. The first estimate of his impact was realized when I joined FDA, by which time he already left FDA. Dr Ludden was able to attract some of the top scientists to join FDA, which was a challenge in those days. He continued his professorial spirit by teaching pharmacometrics to aspiring clinical pharmacologists. Gradually, our meetings converged on topics related to strategic direction of the field. He was kind enough to meet with me to inspire me and offer sound advice. He was always at the global minimum, was a true ‘gentleman’ through our iterations. Dr Ludden laid one of the initial foundations of Pharmacometrics at FDA. His contributions to the NONMEM community are well known. I cannot $ESTIMATE his impact on our field both through transforming FDA reviews and making NONMEM more useful for scientists. There is no uncertainty that the shoes he walked in cannot be filled by anybody (;$COVARIANCE). In conclusion, he left a strong $PRIOR; and $SIMULATION predicts that his impact will continue to last forever! I will always remember him. Joga From: owner-nmus...@globomaxnm.com <owner-nmus...@globomaxnm.com> on behalf of Riley, Steve <steve.ri...@pfizer.com> Date: Friday, August 2, 2024 at 2:53 PM To: nmusers@globomaxnm.com <nmusers@globomaxnm.com> Subject: [NMusers] Sad news about Dr. Ludden You don't often get email from steve.ri...@pfizer.com. Learn why this is important<https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> CAUTION: This message originated from a non-UMB email system. Hover over any links before clicking and use caution opening attachments. Dear NM-Users, Regrettably, I am writing to let you know that Dr. Ludden passed away Tuesday evening, 30JUL2024. I was able to get there over the weekend prior to visit him and his family. During his wakeful moments we had some good scientific discussions. We talked a lot about NONMEM and how its functionality and utility has expanded since he retired. He was pleased to hear about the changes. He was surrounded by family for the days leading up to the end. They were all appreciative that I was able to get there and tell him (and them) how much he meant to all of us and the impact he had on our careers. I think memories of Dr. Ludden were characterized perfectly by Marc Gastonguay, “I am forever grateful for the positive impact that Tom had on my life and career, not to mention the tremendous, although often underappreciated, contributions he made to the disciplines of clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics. His humble brilliance will be missed and fondly remembered.” Steve Riley
