Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 4/3/2023 9:24:00 AM

René Bruno, PhD, Staff Scientist, Genentech, Marseille, France

What does receiving the 2023 Sheiner-Beal Pharmacometrics award mean to you?
Receiving this award is indeed a lifetime achievement for me. It is especially meaningful as I first met Lew Sheiner at the ASCPT Annual Meeting in San Antonio in 1985 in front of my poster about Bayesian forecasting to individualize high-dose methotrexate in head and neck cancer. Since then, Lew was a model and a mentor throughout my career. He eventually became a friend after he spent a six-month sabbatical at my company (Rhône Poulenc Rorer) in Paris in 1994. A big thanks goes to Jin Jin, PhD, Genentech, my other nominators, and all my colleagues over the past 35+ years. I share this award with Laurent Claret, PhD, who passed away three years ago (2019) and without whom I would never have received this award.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
Generating the popPK and PK/PD results that allowed docetaxel (Taxotere) first accelerated approval in second-line metastatic breast cancer in 1996, two years in advance of pivotal Phase III studies.

Who has inspired you in your career?
Two names come to mind. Professor Athanasios Iliadis, University of Marseilles, who taught me the basics of modeling and simulation during and after my PhD program. I also was also inspired by Professor LB Sheiner, University of California San Francisco, for his vision, support, and mentorship to introduce modeling and simulation in drug development.

Do you have a favorite tip or trick for clinical practice or research that you want to share with fellow members?
This is not really a trick – but advice. Scientists need to have a vision and be persistent to make things happen.

When you aren't working, how do you spend your time?
I am practicing Tai Chi and hiking. I used to play guitar and improvised jazz music. I hope to get back into playing someday.

How do you keep focused and motivated?
I do not have a specific trick or method for this. I am fortunate to work for great companies with great innovative compounds or visions like Rhône-Poulenc, Pharsight, and Genentech, where I work in the modeling and simulation group with Jin Jin and others. It is a stimulating environment where scientists are empowered for innovation.

What was your childhood dream job?
I have always wanted to be a scientist – but I was dreaming of astrophysics and space exploration. I was 14 in 1969 when watching the first moon landing on TV. I ended up doing pharmacometrics – a kind of use model to control trajectories too.

Dr. Bruno has been a member of ASCPT since 1997.