Postdoctoral Research Scientist

The Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center seeks a Postdoctoral Research Scientist to develop population Pharmacokinetic models for drugs used for the treatment of patients with obesity and diabetes and for drugs used for the treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders.

This ARPA-H funded project is part of a multi-institutional effort (IndiPHARM) led by Dr Gary Miller from Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health. The project itself is led by Drs Serge Cremers, and Alex Lyashchenko, who will be overseeing the activities of the postdoctoral research scientist in the Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Laboratory of the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Co-variates for the continuously developing PK models will include PK patient characteristics such as body weight and renal function, but also genetics, as well as metabolomic and exposomic markers.

The models will be used to assess systemic exposure to the drugs in patients who participated in large scale Electronic Health Record and Sample repository studies.

In addition, the models will be applied to the care of individual patients by estimating the systemic exposure to the drugs from the population models combined with drug measurements using Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) Bayesian estimations.

The work is to lead to several scientific publications and will provide a unique opportunity for a clinical pharmacologist or MD/PharmD/PhD with interest in clinical pharmacology to gain experience in the development and implementation of PK models for large scale clinical studies and for patient care.

At CUIMC, we stand together because diverse experiences, perspectives, and values enrich every dimension of our work. Join our team and see how your unique skills and experiences can create a real impact by changing lives.

Job Function:

Develop population PK models for drugs used for the treatment of patients with obesity and diabetes (n=150) and for drugs used for the treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders (n=100).

The models will be developed using PK software programs such as NONMEM and potential co-variates will include patient characteristics, genetics, as well as metabolomic and exposomic markers.

Apply the PK models to Electronic Health Record- and large biorepository-based studies such as OHDSI, All-of-us, UK Biobank, and Tapestry.

Apply the PK models to individual patients in support of their care using high-resolution-based mass spectrometry-based measurements of the drugs, their metabolites, as well as metabolomic and exposomic markers.

The application of the models for the clinical studies will take place in close collaboration with several of the other investigators involved in the IndiPHARM project such as Dr George Hripcsak from Columbia and Dr Chirag Patel from Harvard University.

The application of the models to the care of individual patients will be supervised directly by Drs. Cremers and Lyashchenko.

Lab Mission/Purpose:

The Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology Laboratory of the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology is a state-of-the-art CLIA-, CAP, and New York State Department of Health-accredited academic clinical laboratory that develops and offers LC-MS- and HPLC-based assays for drugs in support of patient care. The laboratory's rapidly expanding test menu includes routine assays for drugs that are also offered by other clinical laboratories but its primary focus is on drugs for which therapeutic drug monitoring is not available anywhere else. In addition, the laboratory's unique position within one of the world's leading medical centers enables early translation of assays for drugs in development into patient care. Assays are developed and offered for patient care in close collaboration with academic research groups as well as pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies.

In addition to reporting drug levels, the laboratory provides consults with respect to the interpretation of drug levels using pharmacokinetic software and integrating chemistry, clinical, and genetic data into the therapeutic drug monitoring process.

Minimum Education Requirements:

MD, PharmD, and/or PhD

Minimum Skills Required:

Population PK modeling using NONMEM or similar programs.

Pharmacological knowledge of drugs

Preferred Qualifications:

Clinical Pharmacologist (ABCP)

Columbia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Pay Transparency Disclosure

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.