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Boston QSP May 2018 Event Announcement

Boston- Please join us on Wednesday, May 16th, 2018 for an evening of sharing, learning, and socializing with fellow Boston QSP community members at the Boston QSP May event.

The event theme is "Modeling and Simulation in Oncology." It will feature two talks by guest speakers Dr. Ardeshir Goliaei and Dr. Helen Moore, both from AstraZeneca. It will be followed by a mixer and reception where you can enjoy great company and conversation with fellow community members over selected craft beers and food from a local small business.

Registration is free but RSVP is required. The event is sponsored by Pfizer. The venue is sponsored by Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC).

Agenda

5:30-5:55 PM: Talk 1 and Q&A. Presentation title: A multiscale model of cell death describes in-vitro loss of viability in cancer cells upon treatment (Havana Room)

5:55-6:20 PM: Talk 2 and Q&A. Presentation title: How to mathematically optimize combination drug regimens (Havana Room)

6:20-7:30 PM: Mixer & Reception (Venture Café, a few steps down the hallway from the Havana room)

Venue: Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, Cambridge.

RSVP here. Limited seats.

* Please do not hesitate to RSVP on the waiting list if the RSVP is full as some guests "un-RSVP" as the event gets closer.

[Please do not forget to read a special request at the end of this announcement.]

Speaker Detail:

Dr. Ardeshir Goliaei is currently a post-doc research fellow at the DMPK modeling and simulation group, AstraZeneca. He works on developing quantitative models for cancer cells and drug response that combine aspects of pharmacology and cellular heterogeneity. After finishing his doctorate in Pharmacy (PharmaD) at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Goliaei was trained in structural biochemistry and bioinformatics at University of Western Ontario. Then he completed his Ph.D. training in Biophysics and Computational Biology, at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, before he joined AstraZeneca.


In this talk, Dr. Goliaei will describe the heterogeneity of protein expression in individual cancer cells and how a novel multi-scale mathematical model (binding activity, agent-base model, in-vitro cancer cell modeling) was built to integrate the single cell death event with the phenotypic viability. The model allows characterizing drug response and resistance development of a cell population. Furthermore, it allows simulation of in vitro viability profiles of virtual cell lines, which are currently being experimentally validated.

Dr. Helen Moore is currently a principal scientist at AstraZeneca. After finishing her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Stony Brook University, Dr. Moore worked on therapies for cancer and viral infection (HIV, HCV) at Stanford University. After a period of 11 years in academia, Dr. Moore joined Genentech to work on antibody & antibody-drug conjugate modeling in oncology. In addition to doing research, she took on a role of a trainer for advanced modeling theory and hands-on software courses when she was with Pharsight (now part of Certara). She then moved to Bristol-Myers Squibb, focusing on clincial immuno-oncology programs, respectively, before joining AstraZeneca. Dr. Moore was recently selected as a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) for "Impactful industrial application of mathematical modeling in oncology, immunology, and virology, and for mentoring, teaching and leadership".


Combination therapy is increasingly important. However, finding the best possible regimens to use can be challenging. In this talk, Dr. Moore will showcase the use of optimal control and related mathematical techniques to predict optimal regimens, drawing on examples from virology and oncology. She will also highlight the decision-making information we can gain from the use of semi-mechanistic, fit-for-purpose mathematical models and optimization in drug development.


**A request to all members of Boston QSP community:

Our events are for free. But this time we ask you to consider contributing to a fundraiser to benefit one of the Boston QSP community members, Abhinav Tiwari, who is undergoing rehabilitation after a severe and debilitating illness that came about in December 2017. Here is the fundraiser link on Youcaring.com. Please note that the fundraiser is not organized by Boston QSP. Boston QSP is simply doing its part to amplify the fundraising effort.

 

About Boston QSP


Boston QSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to foster the sharing of QSP knowledge, challenges, solutions, and opportunities to advance the field​ as an interdisciplinary community in Boston.





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