Nada Abla Geiser

What I do at MMV:

My role is to lead the PBPK (physiologically based pharmacokinetic) modelling strategy and to provide scientific expertise to support the development and use of antimalarial drugs. My daily work therefore consists of studying and predicting pharmacokinetic properties in R&D, but also marketed antimalarials in different populations, such as children and pregnant women, and evaluating potential drug-drug interactions when these drugs are given in combination or with co-administered drugs.

Why I work at MMV:

I feel privileged to be part of an organisation whose goal is to reduce the burden of a disease which makes so many people suffer, especially children. It is exciting and extremely motivating to think I could make a difference in their lives.

More about me:

I joined MMV in 2014 after working at Merck Serono Geneva for six years as laboratory head in DMPK supporting R&D projects from different therapeutic areas, including malaria. I started at MMV in the Discovery team, before moving to the Translational team and more recently to the Integrated Sciences group. A pharmacist by training, I obtained my PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Geneva and completed my postdoctoral training in pharmacogenetics at the University of California, San Francisco. I’ve authored and co-authored peer-reviewed articles in the areas of neglected tropical diseases, pharmacokinetics, transdermal drug delivery, and pharmacogenetics.

Ask me about:

The fate of a drug in the body, drug-drug interactions, pharmacogenetics, other tropical diseases such as schistosomiasis, but also classical and modern music (I play the piano and used to sing in a choir), literature, and travel.