The Johns Hopkins University and United Therapeutics Corporation have teamed up to create a new fellowship in the emerging field of computational medicine.
The Industry Fellowship in Computational Medicine will provide full funding and an annual salary to recent Ph.D. graduates who will receive training in computational medicine and learn mathematical and engineering approaches used in the modeling of lung disease. Fellows also will gain experience in leading interdisciplinary, team-based scientific research and receive mentorship from Johns Hopkins faculty and United Therapeutics researchers.
The deadline for applications is Sept. 1.
Computational medicine is the application of mathematical modeling to biological systems. The discipline develops quantitative approaches for understanding human disease with the goal of applying models to improve patient care. The Institute for Computational Medicine (ICM), founded in 2005 within the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, is considered the birthplace of the field.
“This fellowship provides a unique opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary, leading-edge translational research in computational medicine with mentorship by investigators at both The Johns Hopkins University Institute for Computational Medicine and United Therapeutics,” says Raimond L. Winslow, ICM’s director. “These fellows will benefit from experience in both academic and industry environments, including great people and extensive resources in both, and will be superbly placed for their future careers.”
Silver Spring-based United Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening conditions. The UT Computational Lab for in silico molecular biology, for example, uses computational methods to model the possible effects of drugs at the organ, tissue, cell and molecular levels.
“What we want for the fellows and the program overall is to expand the application of computational medicine in lung diseases,” says Joe Bender (Ph.D. ’14), UT’s computational lab director.
Applicants for the fellowship must be Ph.D. graduates with a background in biomedical engineering, computational biology or a related discipline and knowledge of techniques in mathematical modeling. The hybrid of academic and industry research mentorship and experience is ideal for students who wish to pursue careers on either path, according to Bender, who will help mentor the fellows.
“If you’re not sure what direction you want to go, this will give you a chance to decide,” he says.
Applicants must submit a list of references who will be contacted to provide a letter of support. A finalized and detailed application process will be posted on the ICM website.
“The fellowship in computational medicine with United Therapeutics is a great example of how industry can work together with the Whiting School of Engineering in a way that advances the research mission of both parties,” says Seth Zonies, director of business development for the Whiting School of Engineering. “We hope to see an increasing number of these relationships.”
Click here for more information or to apply.