Alzahra' Hamdan receives the Hans-Günther Schäfer Award
The Faculty of Pharmacy congratulates Alzahra' Hamdan, PhD student in Pharmacometrics, on receiving the Hans Günter Schäfer Award 2025 for her outstanding contributions to the field of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. Alzahra' accepted the award at the PK/PD Expert Meeting 15-17 May in Bad Dürkheim.
Alzahra' Hamdan, PhD student at the Department of Pharmacy, is the winner of the Hans Günter Schäfer Award 2025. The prize recognizes young scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, with Alzahra' receiving the award for her work Longitudinal Analysis of Natural History Progression of Rare and Ultra-Rare Cerebellar Ataxias Using Item Response Theory, published in journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
“Our article presents a pharmacometric framework for effective utilization of natural history data to guide clinical trial decisions for future therapies of the rare disease Genetic Ataxia. The fact that our results are recognized with this important award further confirm the crucial role that pharmacometric models and inovative tools have in supporting treatment advances,” states Alzahra' Hamdan, who conducts her research within the framework of the international consortium EVIDENCE-RND.
The Hans Günter Schäfer Award is presented by the Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines in memory of Dr. Hans Günter Schäfer, initiator of the PKPD Experts Meeting, which in May was arranged for the 27th time in Bad Dürkheim. In connection with the award ceremony, Alzahra' Hamdan gave an introduction to her ongoing research.
“Receiving the Hans-Günther Schäfer Award is both a great honor and a source of inspiration to continue conducting research that makes a difference – and of course to do so in a collaboration where we share a goal to contribute to better health for everyone, not least those living with rare diagnoses,” says Alzahra' Hamdan.
Facts
- Alzahra' Hamdan was recruited in January 2023 to Uppsala University's pharmacometrics research environment which is the workplace for close to fifty pharmacists, chemists, biologists, system developers and statisticians.
- Pharmacometrics is an interdisciplinary arena where researchers use a diversity of data to build mathematical models in order to accelerate the development and optimize the dosage of drugs.
- The results – fewer poor investments, more effective treatments and less side effects – generates great value for patients, healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry alike.
Contact
Alzahra' Hamdan, PhD student
Department of Pharmacy
Alzahra.Hamdan@uu.se
Text & photo: Magnus Alsne