In an interview entitled "A conversation with Pharmacometrics Africa", Peter Bonate asked a few of us who were involved with the set-up of Pharmacometrics Africa about our vision for the future of Pharmacometrics on the continent.
"I recognize that there are many bright Africans who are talented, full of potential and who are looking for ways to apply their mathematical expertise and clinical acumen. All they need is somebody to believe in them, just like other people believed in me and gave me a chance. This is how the rest of the world works and Africa is no exception. As an African and knowing where I come from, it is my duty (and pleasure) to do whatever I can to promote pharmacometrics in Africa before I can expect others to do the same. I have had conversations with African pharmacometricians in the diaspora who share a similar perspective and we were considering ways to promote pharmacometrics in Africa. In this case Pharmacometrics Africa was a logical avenue. The energy and enthusiasm of young African scientists makes even brief contact with them very fulfilling personally. Sometimes it is just this brief contact that could be the missing piece to set a bright student off to an exciting career making significant contributions in pharmacometrics and addressing health challenges in Africa. Emmanuel Chigutsa PhD (University of Cape Town), Team Leader, Eli Lilly
Colin Pillai, Steve Kern, Paolo Denti, Aida Kawuma, and Emmanuel Chigutsa contributed answers.
Read the full interview at this link on the ISoP website.