Associate Director QSP-PBPK Algorithms

Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb
Location: Princeton
Posted on: April 8, 2021

Job Description:

At Bristol Myers Squibb, we are inspired by a single vision - transforming patients' lives through science.--In oncology, hematology, immunology and cardiovascular disease - and one of the most diverse and promising pipelines in the industry - each of our passionate colleagues contribute to innovations that drive meaningful change. We bring a human touch to every treatment we pioneer. Join us and make a difference. Job Description

The Quantitative Systems Pharmacology & Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetics (QSP & PBPK) function within Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacometrics (CP&P) is searching for a scientist with expertise in model calibration algorithms and pipelines. Expertise with virtual population approaches is highly desired but advanced mathematical or statistical training and experience developing customized Bayesian algorithms would be a reasonable background. This scientist will bring expertise in calibrating the population variability in mechanistic models and experience leading scripted toolbox development. The individual will:
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• Provide further leadership for existing model calibration and computing capabilities and future direct innovation and development
• Advance novel and rigorous methodologies for model variability calibration, sensitivity analysis, and prediction uncertainty characterization
• Advance existing and lead development of new tools that can be deployed using parallel resources on compute clusters with thousands of workers to accelerate characterization and calibration of ordinary differential equation models with substantial compute times in high dimensional spaces
• Assist therapeutic area expert modelers to ensure timely model calibrations to impact drug development programs and coordinate technology development
• Maintain and advance a codebase for model simulation, characterization, and calibration
• Partner with external groups to accelerate the internal efforts in key technology areas
• Maintaining an active relationship with colleagues in Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacometrics at the project level as well as in the advancement of Pharmacometrics
• Staying informed with emerging literature, science, and methods in the QSP and PBPK modeling fields especially focused on questions of variability and uncertainty
  -- Position Requirements
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  • Ph.D. in Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Biomedical/Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Computational Biology, or related field with 5+ years experience
  • Excellent understanding of the theory and principles in optimization and global sensitivity analysis including topics such as particle swarm optimization, quadratic programming, variance-based global sensitivity analysis
  • Expertise in virtual population methods or related concepts and strategies for model calibration including applications of importance sampling and Bayesian algorithmic strategies (Markov Chain Monte Carlo, Metropolis Hastings, Sequential Monte Carlo, Likelihood-free methods)
  • Prior experience in modeling pathophysiology and therapies or related systems biology models with ordinary differential equations is desired
  • Recognition of the distinction between parameter and prediction uncertainty and recognition of the benefits and considerations for collective fitting strategies
  • Track record of developing scripted toolboxes for MATLAB and/or SimBiology, experience with version control, parallelization strategies for synchronous and asynchronous implementations, experience profiling and optimizing code, and capability of quickly learning additional tools as needed such as R and Julia
  • Experience running code on clusters is preferable, including experience with resources such as MATLAB Parallel Server and/or workload managers such as SLURM or torque
  • Experience working with data integration as well as omics data sources and methods for their treatment is beneficial
  • Ability to learn new areas of quantitative sciences and build on solid foundation of skills to develop new algorithmic strategies
  • Ability to communicate internally and externally on topics related to model application for Clinical Pharmacology and application in context of QSP and PBPK is required
  • Desire to interact as a modeling and simulation expert with matrix project teams working closely with experts from different functional areas (pre-clinical and clinical and multiple therapeutic areas) Around the world, we are passionate about making an impact on the lives of patients with serious diseases. Empowered to apply our individual talents and diverse perspectives in an inclusive culture, our shared values of passion, innovation, urgency, accountability, inclusion and integrity bring out the highest potential of each of our colleagues. Bristol Myers Squibb recognizes the importance of balance and flexibility in our work environment. We offer a wide variety of competitive benefits, services and programs that provide our employees with the resources to pursue their goals, both at work and in their personal lives. W e're creatinginnovative medicines for patients fighting serious diseases. We're also nurturing our own diverse team with inspiring work and challenging career options. No matter the role, each one of us makes a contribution. And that makes all the difference.

Keywords: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Trenton , Associate Director QSP-PBPK Algorithms, Executive , Princeton, New Jersey