Boston QSP featured in NewCo Boston Event at CIC
Boston QSP participated in a NewCo event on April 12 upon invitation from Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) representing “one of the most popular events organized at CIC.” NewCo is a global initiative to connect people with local companies to learn how they are steering positive change in the community, industry, or a region. This year the NewCo Boston was hosted by CIC, Cambridge, April 10-12th, 2018. Located in the heart of Kendall Square, CIC is an innovation powerhouse in Cambridge. CIC provides access to resources and a place to work for entrepreneurs and innovators.
Boston QSP, Inc., a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization, was founded in February 2017. It is building an interdisciplinary community of researchers in Boston to share knowledge, challenges, solutions, and opportunities in the field of quantitative & system pharmacology (QSP). Under the supervision of the Scientific Advisory Board, this mission is mainly achieved through the flagship bi-monthly Seminar & Mixer event. The event features invited talks from researchers in industry and academia. A mixer designed to promote cross-pollination of ideas and networking among attendees follows the talk. In about 2 years, the community has grown from 50 to over 800 members in Boston. Boston QSP is making a visible and quantifiable impact in the community. This success would not be possible if it were not for the enormous support from our members, organizing team, advisory board, and event sponsors.
I recently sat down with the founder, Dr. Rajiv P. Shrestha, to find out more about Boston QSP.
Jae: First, congratulations on being named as one of the most popular events organized at CIC. How was the NewCo event?
Rajiv: Thank you! The event was great. It provided us an opportunity to spread the word about the mission and vision of our non-profit organization and the positive impact that we have been able to make in Boston’s scientific and innovative community.
Jae: From 50 to over 800 members within 2 years, it is quite a growth trend. How did it start?
Rajiv: Boston QSP started as a Meetup event where like-minded people gathered and networked over a beer in local pubs. Boston has it all. Great research institutions, pharma companies of all sizes, and most importantly a huge pool of experienced and new talents poised to take the field of QSP to the next level.
Jae: When was the turning point for Boston QSP?
Rajiv: I would say that the turning point was when we reached 100 members on our Meetup site sometime during the late summer of 2016. That is when I said, ok, it is time to take this growing community to the next level. Then we planned to organize a more structured event with invited speakers talk followed by a mixer afterwards. Our first such event was organized on September 2016. The help and support from the early days members and co-organizers: Zack Kenz, Samantha Pappin, Maya Gurung, and Mike Acovio were crucial. The event became an instant hit.
Jae: Can you tell us more about exciting events Boston QSP is going to host this year?
Rajiv: Yes. This year we are going to organize events based on particular themes. For example, our May event theme will be "modeling and simulation in oncology." There is more in the pipeline. I will jus say, stay tuned!
About Boston QSP
Boston QSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to foster the sharing of QSP knowledge, challenges, solutions, and opportunities to advance the field as an interdisciplinary community in Boston.