MSPH Events

12noon – 1pm, Thursday 20th November 2008
Seminar Room 515, Level 5, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton

Kris Jamsen and Julie Simpson from the Centre for MEGA Epidemiology present ‘Optimal Designs for Population Pharmacokinetic Studies of Antimalarial Drugs’  at the Melbourne School of Population Health’s Work in Progress (WIP) Seminar.

Population pharmacokinetic studies determine the drug concentration-time profile in the target patient population and determine the patient factors that cause changes in these profiles. The data available for population pharmacokinetic studies are often from sampling schedules that are insufficient to precisely estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters. A prime example of this is seen with population pharmacokinetic studies of the artemisinin derivatives, which are the most important antimalarial drugs in the world. Artemisinin derivatives in combination with another antimalarial drug are currently recommended by the WHO as the first line treatment for falciparum malaria. They are rapidly absorbed with a very short elimination half-life, less than one hour.

In the last five years, researchers have started designing population pharmacokinetic studies using ‘optimal design theory’, which uses complex mathematical techniques to determine a sampling schedule that is sufficient to precisely estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters, given any design constraints (e.g. logistical or ethical) specified by the investigator.  In this talk we will introduce ‘optimal design theory’ and demonstrate its applicability for population pharmacokinetic studies of the artemisinin derivatives.

Kris Jamsen is a Research Fellow biostatistician at the Centre for MEGA Epidemiology.  He primarily works on the development and testing of novel statistical methods for analysing complex family data and the determination of optimal designs for population pharmacokinetic studies of antimalarial drugs.  He also contributes to the teaching of the Master of Public Health and Epidemiology programs, and is currently enrolled in a PhD.

Julie Simpson is a Senior Lecturer in biostatistics at the Centre for MEGA Epidemiology. Her statistical research interest lies in nonlinear mixed effects modelling of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic studies. She currently collaborates on malaria research studies with the Wellcome Trust-Mahidol University-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Programme, Menzies School of Health Research, and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

All welcome. No RSVP required.

All enquiries to Kellie Vizard, Tel: 03 8344 0671