On Friday, Feb. 27, the Department of Mathematics had the pleasure of hosting Executive Director of Clinical Pharmacology at Eikon Therapeutics Carolyn Cho, PhD, as the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Guest Lecturer for a special colloquium talk. This event also marked the inaugural event of the SIAM Student Chapter at the University of Hartford, making it a particularly exciting milestone for our students.
Dr. Cho delivered an engaging talk on Applied Mathematics in Cancer Immunotherapy Drug Development, highlighting how mathematical modeling is used across biomedical research and has become increasingly influential in the pharmaceutical development industry. She discussed the growing role of model informed drug development, including its importance to the U.S. FDA under the Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments Act of 2023. The talk walked students through the stages of drug development and the types of scientific and mathematical questions that arise throughout the process. Using cancer immunotherapy as a case study, Dr. Cho illustrated how mathematical models help inform decision making, optimize dosing strategies, and improve the safety and efficiency of new therapies.
In addition to the technical content, Dr. Cho shared thoughtful career advice, offering insight into interdisciplinary career paths at the intersection of mathematics, biology, and medicine, and emphasizing the real world impact mathematicians can have in the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. The colloquium was informative, inspiring, and students greatly enjoyed seeing how applied mathematics plays a critical role in advancing modern healthcare.