Associate Director, QSP Preclinical Immunoscience

We are an EasyHiring recruiting company that is looking for candidates for our partners for the position of Associate Director, QSP Preclinical Immunosciencein New Jersey - East Brunswick for work in Princeton, New Jersey.

At our company, 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.

The scientist in this role will establish a preclinical immunoscience focused Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) capability to support discovery and early drug development efforts. QSP modeling has become an important component of discovery and clinical development. QSP models are mechanistic, mathematical models, based on integration of non-clinical/clinical knowledge and data to represent varying scales of drug pharmacology from target binding and modulation through disease pathophysiology and multi-drug pharmacology. They can be applied to aid in target prioritization, therapeutic modality selection, chemical/biotherapeutic optimization, biomarker characterization, combination assessment, clinical trial design, and trial interpretation.

Our QSP&PBPK team has established expertise, impact, and tools to develop, calibrate, and apply QSP models. We are looking for individuals to take a leadership role in a new strategic thrust for the group and at BMS. The individual in this role will report to a therapeutic-area QSP lead and will be accountable to establish and implement strategy to support one of the Thematic Research Centers (TRCs) at BMS. They will be expected to have strong modeling skills to individually contribute as well as leadership skills to direct the establishment of a preclinical QSP strategy for a TRC. Individuals must be able to adopt a “discovery mindset,” working with discovery and early drug development teams for education, communication, and work prioritization. Prior industry modeling experience, experience working with discovery and early drug development colleagues, familiarity with key biology including immunology, and knowledge of relevant experimental methods are advantages.

This leader will be a part of a broader Quantitative Systems Pharmacology and Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetics organization with a strong intellectual environment and capable colleagues. They will be expected to coordinate their approaches with the QSP&PBPK methods lead where relevant.

Responsibilities:

• Provide leadership to and collaboration with multidisciplinary project teams to develop and apply QSP models
• Demonstrate high proficiency in the development and application of Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) models to address drug discovery and development questions
• Partner with external groups to accelerate the internal Systems Pharmacology efforts in key disease areas
• Independently provide expert support to project teams to design, execute and interpret preclinical and clinical studies
• Independently collaborate with stakeholders to identify and interpret experiments critical for model development and refinement
• Coordinate with the QSP&PBPK methods lead on methodologies for virtual population workflows and script-based analysis packages and customize as needed
• Network with stakeholders in R&ED, GDD, and other functions to facilitate model development and application
• Begin to align disease area QSP strategy with organizational priorities
• Align QSP model deliverables with clinical pharmacology, pre-clinical, and clinical development plans as appropriate
• Participate and contribute to departmental and R&D initiatives
• Contribute to the standards of practice within the department
• Stay informed with emerging literature and science in the systems biology/pharmacology modeling and simulation sciences
• Serve as a subject matter expert to both internal colleagues and the external scientific community
• Build and maintain a personal track record of publication in the area of QSP
• Establish and maintain effective collaborations with stakeholders in other functional areas
• Maintain an active relationship with colleagues in Clinical Pharmacology & Pharmacometrics at the project level as well as in the advancement of Pharmacometrics

Position requirements:

• Ph.D. in Engineering, Mathematics, Bioinformatics, Pharmacometrics, Systems Biology/Pharmacology or a related field.
• In addition to the Ph.D., 5 years of mathematical modeling & computer simulation experience for biomedical/pharmaceutical applications. Experience within pharmaceutical industry or pharmaceutical consulting is preferred, post-doctoral may be considered depending on the totality of prior experience.
• M.S. in appropriate field with significantly more experience may be considered
• Excellent understanding of theory, principles and statistical aspects of advanced mathematical modeling and simulation. Knowledge of process control theory would be beneficial
• Good understanding of the basic principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
• Ability to learn new areas of biological sciences and build on solid foundation of quantitative skills to develop QSP models
• Ability to communicate internally and externally on topics related to CP&P and QSP is required
• Ability to keep up to date with and propose the implementation of scientific and technological developments in the area of Systems Pharmacology/Biology
• Hands-on experience with modeling software tools used in the QSP field would be desirable. Experience with MATLAB SimBiology would be particularly desirable
• Experience with general programming and data analysis tools/languages such as Python, R, MATLAB, Spotfire, etc., is required
• Desire to interact as a modeling and simulation expert across clinical development teams with experts from different functional areas (pre-clinical and clinical)
• Experience working in one of BMS’ disease areas of interest is desirable
• Knowledge of current practices and issues in pharmaceutical R&D in disciplines such as clinical pharmacology, bioanalytical, biopharmaceutics, and toxicology

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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.

We 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.

Job Type: Full-time

Work Location: On the road