Careers

The DILI-sim Initiative regularly seeks high quality people to join us and contribute to the development and use of the DILIsym® modeling software. We offer a unique mix of basic and applied research in the area of mathematical modeling. DILI-sim modeling team members join as employees of DILIsym Services Inc. As new team members are sought, positions will be posted here and linked to the DILIsym Services Careers website.

DILIsym Services Inc. offers competitive salaries, attractive benefits, a stimulating work environment, and coworkers with diverse backgrounds. As a matter of practice, DILIsym Services makes applications for general employment available only when a position is open and advertised. DILIsym Services Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

Current Openings

Postdoctoral Training Position in Modeling and Simulation of Drug-Induced Liver Injury or Fatty Liver Disease Therapies


Outstanding candidates are sought for postdoctoral positions at DILIsym Services Inc., a Simulations Plus company, in Research Triangle Park, NC. The successful applicants will be part of an interdisciplinary team of engineers, biochemists, toxicologists, and physicians working on the development and application of the DILIsym® software, a computational model of liver function in human patients, rodents, and dogs to improve understanding of drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Specifically, the successful candidates will be tasked with DILIsym software development projects commissioned by the DILI-sim Initiative members (www.DILIsym.com), as well as application projects that involve utilizing DILIsym to solve important problems related to drug-induced liver injury within the pharmaceutical industry. Candidates may also spend time on the development and use of NAFLDsym, a mathematical software representation of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease used for the evaluation of disease treatments. The initial appointment will be for one year, with the possibility of extension.

Qualifications and Experience

Ideal candidates will have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, or other life science areas with 0-3 years of postdoctoral study experience. They will be proficient in mathematics, have a general knowledge of biology, biochemistry, and toxicology, and have experience with software such as MATLAB. A background knowledge of liver biochemistry and physiology or metabolic diseases is desirable but not required. Experience and familiarity with computational modeling of biological systems is desirable but not essential.

Qualified candidates need to submit their resume to Bud Nelson, Director of Operations, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Hamner Institute examining impact of drugs on liver health

DILIsym™The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences is partnering with major pharmaceutical companies to explore the impacts of new drugs on the liver.

The initiative, called the Drug-induced Liver Injury Simulation Initiative, is a partnership between the Hamner and stakeholders including Amgen, AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), Janssen Research & Development LLC, Merck (NYSE: MRK), Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Sanofi.

DILI-sim, chaired by Paul Watkins, director of the Hamner-University of North Carolina Institute for Drug Safety Sciences, will provide a forum for the companies to share knowledge and experiences related to liver injury. The goal is to create safer drugs in the future.

The Hamner Institutes For Health Sciences Announces Formation Of DILI-sim Initiative

DILIsym™

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences (The Hamner) has announced the formation of the DILI-sim Initiative, a pre-competitive partnership between The Hamner and a diverse set of stakeholders to develop a computational model that will predict whether new drug candidates will cause drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in patients. The goals of the Initiative are to improve patient safety, reduce the need for animal testing, and reduce the costs and time necessary to develop new drugs. It is the intent of the DILI-sim Initiative to make the model, in the form of DILIsymTM software, broadly available so that it may be used by the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other entities in academia, government and industry.

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The DILI-sim Initiative

The DILI-sim Initiative is a consortium of life science companies led by DILIsym Services, Inc. and charged with developing DILIsym® software, a predictive, mathematical model of drug-induced liver injury. The goals of the Initiative are to improve patient safety, reduce the need for animal testing, and reduce the costs and time necessary to develop new drugs. DILI-sim is currently welcoming new members. By joining DILI-sim, you get access to the DILIsym® software, including the source code and a graphical user interface. In addition, population samples (SimPops™) are included for assessing variability in response, along with regularly scheduled model training and support. Consultancy services from the DILI-sim modeling team are also available.

Perhaps most importantly, DILI-sim members have a prevailing voice in the development plan of the DILIsym® software, ensuring that the model will be of maximum utility as it is developed within their respective organizations. Members also get the chance to hear and learn from one another at regular virtual and face to face meetings, where scientific discussions centered around DILI occur.

Members of the Initiative

Current members of the Initiative include Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Research & Development, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma and Daiichi-Sankyo. It is anticipated that additional members will join, as the Initiative continues to grow and meet its objectives. The FDA is also involved as a collaborator on the project.

DILI-sim members meet three to four times per year, including one face to face meeting in Research Triangle Park, NC. Members receive updates on model development progress, propose new model features and provide input on proposed additions, and engage in discussions regarding basic concepts and mechanisms related to DILI. Additional meetings are also held occasionally to discuss important scientific issues.

Deliverables

Each year, DILI-sim members are provided with an updated version of the DILIsym® software, along with training and access to the DILI-sim modeling team for support. Access is also granted to the members' section of the DILIsym.com website, where the model and documentation can be downloaded and the members' forum can be accessed. The members' forum provides a medium for posting and reading technical and operational questions and answers, as well as engaging in interesting scientific discussions.

The DILI-sim Initiative is currently open to new members. Academic and non-profit researchers are also encouraged to contact the DILI-sim modeling team at DILIsym Services, Inc., to receive information on accessing DILIsym®.