Spring Vacation School and Careers Evening 2018
9th to 13th April 2018,Whiteknights Campus,
University of Reading,
UK.
New to Quantitative Systems Pharmacology? Keen to find out how it could be used in your research? Then this Winter School is for you. Whether you are a graduate student in pharmacology, a physicist keen to find out more or a senior researcher in industry, this 4.5 day school is designed to provide an introduction to developing and applying Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) models.
Constructed around practical examples demonstrating the multiscale nature and use of QSP research in pharmacological research the week will interweave taught lectures with practical demonstrations. Participants will gain an introduction to the core ingredients for developing QSP models including PKPD/PBPK and Systems Biology modelling and how to integrate the two.
A career's evening during the week will allow participants to interact with key industrialists employing QSP expertise, before participating in the School Dinner.
Audience
The School is designed for pharmacological, biological and physical scientists undertaking research in academia and industry. Participants will be split for part of the school, e.g. on the first day pharmacological and biological scientists will be provided with an introduction to mathematical modelling, its motivation and steps, whilst the physical scientists will be provided with a brief introduction to experimental pharmacology.
Pharmacological and Biological scientists are not expected to have a strong background in mathematics and/or modelling, however, the wider their knowledge of mathematics (e.g. first year calculus) the more they may gain from the later stages of the week (please see the draft programme below). Computer programming experience would be beneficial.
Physical scientists are expected to have a strong mathematical background, e.g. undergraduate degree in mathematics, physics, engineering or a related discipline and experience of computer programming. Experience with Matlab or a similar computational package, is preferred, if possible.
Topics covered
Participants will gain the following:
- an understanding of what QSP is and where it can be applied;
- an understanding of how to build a QSP model;
- an introduction to the main components of a QSP model, specifically PKPD/PBPK modelling and Systems Biology models;
- how to integrate PKPD/PBPK and Systems Biology models to develop multiscale QSP models;
- how to solve and analyse QSP models;
- understand different methods for parameterising QSP models;
- understand the importance of model identifiability in parameterising QSP models;
- understand the issues regarding the integration of different modelling approaches;
- develop skills in solving and analysing PKPD/PBPK and Systems Biology Models in Matlab;
- learn how to access mathematical models from online repositories;
- gain an appreciation of different modelling approaches to QSP modelling including agent based and hybrid agent based approaches; and
- gain an appreciation of the different numerical programmes available for solving QSP models (including Matlab, Copasi, SimBiology).
Venue and accommodation
All School activities will take place on the University of Reading, Whiteknights campus. Participants will be accommodated in ensuite accommodation on the University campus, nearby to the teaching facilities.
Registration & fees
The following registration fees apply: PhD students & Postdocs - £75. Academic - £150. Industrial - £500. Industrial (Organisation supporting the QSP network) - £250.
Registration includes all food, subsistence, accommodation, Winter School Dinner, copies of lecture and practical notes and participation in the Winter School and Career's Evening events.
Registration is now closed.
Draft schedule
A copy of the draft teaching schedule can be dowloaded by clicking here
Queries
If you have any queries regarding the Winter School and Career's Evening, please contact m [dot] tindall [at] reading [dot] ac [dot] uk.
