Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM

Bernd Meibohm, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee, Memphis Health Science Center, TN

In 1997, Dr. Meibohm started attending ASCPT Annual Meetings. He was a postdoctoral fellow, and he presented a poster at the Meeting, an experience that he found to be rewarding. He continued to regularly attend the Annual Meeting and present posters. In 2006, he became a member of ASCPT. Since that time, the Annual Meeting has been Dr. Meibohm's favorite aspect of his membership. He believes that “they attract many members from [his] personal network and thus provide [him] a unique opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, former trainees, friends, and potential future collaborators.” In addition to presenting posters, he has also been a speaker at several meetings. In each instance, he participated in sessions of high scientific value with excellent moderators and fellow speakers. He has enjoyed the lively and highly productive interactions with the audience.

Dr. Meibohm believes that “ASCPT provides a focal point for the confluence of clinical pharmacology with other related disciplines, particularly in the area of drug development.” He believes that the Society's most important role in the field is providing a platform for drug development scientists to address emerging questions related to clinical pharmacology, translational sciences, and regulator science in the context of global drug development strategy. ASCPT also acts as a research home for the younger generation of researchers and scientists. He believes established professional organizations provide young scientists with opportunities to get engaged in their discipline, establish a professional network, and learn from more experienced colleagues in the field. From Dr. Meibohm's point of view, interactions with other colleagues were key to his own personal development as a faculty member and clinical pharmacology scientist. Many of his own scientific collaborations have originated from interactions with fellow scientists from ASCPT. He believes that “having the opportunities to be engaged in a professional organization and getting connected with scientists that have complementary expertise to [his] personal skill set has been a key factor in advancing [his] professional career.”

Dr. Meibohm's scientific interests include pulmonary infectious and inflammatory diseases, pediatric pharmacotherapy, and the application of quantitative modeling and simulation techniques in preclinical and clinical drug development with specific focus on therapeutic proteins. He is not involved in direct patient care, but through his work in these areas he is involved in improving health care for individual patients.
There is an increasing knowledge base and awareness of the intricacies and challenges in the pharmacokinetics (PKs) and pharmacodynamics (PDs) of therapeutic proteins, according to Dr. Meibohm. At the University of Tennessee, they hold a weeklong annual training course on this topic, and it has been attended by several hundred industrial scientists over the last decade. Dr. Meibohm explains that the ASCPT Annual Meeting has provided an excellent platform to discuss developments and novel findings in the context of PK/PD of therapeutic proteins through symposia and poster presentations over the past years. Dr. Meibohm is looking forward to the continued inclusion of this evolving topic area in ASCPT programming in the future.