Pre-Clinical SIG

We are a group of statisticians working at CROs and pharmaceutical industry supporting preclinical drug discovery on animal and cell based experiments. As a group, our focus is on diverse range of preclinical topics such as;

  • Discovery
  • Robust study design/good statistical practices in in-vitro, ex-vivo and in-vivo assay development
  • Reproducibility and Translation from pre-clinical to clinical
  • Toxicogenomics
  • General Toxicology
  • Eco-Toxicology
  • Toxicokinetics
  • DMPK / Pharmacokinetics
  • ECG
  • Immuno Toxicology
  • Histopathology
  • Pharmacology
  • Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology
  • Carcinogenicity

 

We organise webinars and workshops on topics and methodological developments in preclinical research and now have a list of over 50 affiliates on our e-mail distribution list. 

 

 

 

 

  Core Committee (L-R): (* not present in the picture)

Preclinical SIG
  NameCompany/Institution
  Denise FedericoEvotec   
  Luc Essermeant Sanofi
  Eloisa BrookGSK (chair)
  Dorothee Tamarelle Sanofi

Jan Serroyen*

Janssen

  Bernd Igl*

Boehringer Ingelheim

  Ezgi Tanriver-Ayder*

GSK

Helena Geys*Janssen

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose

We see our mission as bridging preclinical knowledge and expertise within the pharmaceutical industry and academia to provide a forum to collaborate, discuss and advance statistical topics related to Research, Discovery (including efficacy models), Regulatory and Investigative Toxicology/Safety Assessment. We also hope to encourage the development of relevant statistical methodologies and promote the involvement of statisticians in these areas.

Find out more about us and our objectives in our video overview:

 

Pre-Clinical SIG Webinars

PSI Pre-clinical Special Interest Group has a series of regular FREE webinars dealing with statistical topics faced in pre-clinical and related fields. The presentations run for an hour, with approximately 45 min presentation and a Q&A session in the remaining time. See section below for details of this webinars. Please note that these events take place online via Zoom, and have a limited number of places available. 

 

📢📢📢 Upcoming - First Webinar of 2026  ðŸ“¢ðŸ“¢ðŸ“¢ 

 

Pre-clinical SIG webinar - 3rd Feb 26

2026 Webinars

The PSI Pre-Clinical Special Interest Group seminars for 2026 are planned as follows:

Date

Title

Presenter

 

3 February 2026

Multi-Group Comparison of Means for Single-Factor Experiment with Small Sample Size Under Normality and Heteroscedasticity 

Weiliang Qiu, Sanofi

Find out more and register here

 

2025 Webinars

The PSI Pre-Clinical Special Interest Group seminars for 2025 were as follows: 

Date

Title

Presenter

 

19 March 2025

AI in Medicinal Products

 Dr Liam Childs, AI working group lead - Paul Ehrlich Institute

To access video on demand, click here
24 June 2025

Methodology and first results of the iRISE (improving Reproducibility In SciencE) consortium

Rachel Heyard,
Postdoctoral Fellow at Center for Reproducible Science, University of Zurich

To access video on demand, click here
23 September 2025AI agents for drug discovery and development
James Zou,
Associate professor of Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University
To access video on demand, click here

18 November 2025Randomization in Pre-Clinical Studies: When Evolution Theory Meets StatisticsDavit Sargsyan, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical, Spring House, Pennsylvania, USATo access video on demand, click here

Workshops

Workshop 2025, Verona

Registration for our workshop on 7-8th October in Verona, Italy is now open !

 

Places are extremely limited so please book soon if you can make it.

 

 Our workshop will take place over two half-days, bringing together experts from industry, academia, and regulatory institutions to discuss key challenges and innovations in pre-clinical research.

This year's workshop focuses on reproducibility, translatability, and methodological advancements in pre-clinical studies, with dedicated sessions on optimal study design, virtual control groups, and statistical tools like SAS and R. The agenda includes invited presentations, interactive round table discussions, and ample opportunities for networking and collaboration, both during structured sessions and informal social events.

The event is designed to foster knowledge exchange, encourage cross-sector dialogue, and support the development of best practices in the evolving landscape of pre-clinical research.

 

 For more details and where to register please visit the PSI website: PSI Pre-Clinical Workshop - October 2025

Workshop 2024, Paris

We held our first face-to-face workshop since 2019 in Paris this year. It was wonderful to connect with old and new faces.There was great engagement in the sessions; we all learnt something and had fun too!

Day

Title

Presenter(s)

1

Application of experimental design in animal research: theory and practice 

Simon Bate, GSK

2Analysing Pre-clinical experiments 

Odile Coudert, Ipsen & Bernard Franq, GSK

 Statistics in Toxicology 

Philip Jarvis, Novartis & David Lovell, University of London

 

 

Workshop 2024

 

 

How to get in touch

Please email us if you are interested in contributing to PSI Preclinical SIG or would like to join our mailing list.


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