Jyoti Nehra

Dr. Jyoti Nehra, Medical Research Fellow - Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) Clinical Drug Development Fellowship

What do you do? and what is a typical week for you?

I have a variety of roles, both as an employee and student. I am pursuing Clinical drug development fellowship with the Canadian Cancer Trial Group (CCTG) at Cancer Research institute, Queen’s University, Kingston. I spend most of the time related to activities of Investigational New drug Program of CCTG.

My activities include protocol and Case Report Form development, data review, oversight for phase I and phase II trial conduct under the Investigational New Drug program and review of analyses. I also attend formal and informal meetings related to CCTG activities within the central office and with investigators, including CCTG’s semi-annual meetings. Also, I get an opportunity for analyses of pre-existing CCTG trial databases.

I also participate in transdisciplinary coursework/practicums offered in the Institute such as Experimental Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics, controlled Clinical Trial, Principles of Drug Discovery and Development and basic Statistics for Epidemiologists. As part of this fellowship I can also apply for 8 weeks practicum in a major pharmaceutical company (preclinical /early clinical development or clinical pharmacology) or in a research laboratory performing assays pertinent to their clinical trial.

What qualifications and experience do you have?

After finishing medical school (MBBS) from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences (SMIMS), Gangtok, I did my specialty training in Clinical Pharmacology from my hometown, Rohtak, India.

My interest in clinical research in oncology was the outcome of joining as an oncotherapeutics fellow in Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Mumbai. I gained experience working in bioequivalence, clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic studies and phase I clinical trials. I participated in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) programs, and trial monitoring at regular intervals as part of our quality assurance program.

What’s the most interesting aspect of your job?

The most interesting aspect is how knowledge of clinical pharmacology can be applied in oncology drug development. It has all the ingredients of transdisciplinary drug development. This is the platform where I can implement my theoretical knowledge of conducting phase I and phase II clinical trials into practice.

What are your research interests?

My areas of interest are early phase clinical trials i.e. phase I and phase II trials, immunotherapy in oncology and therapeutic drug monitoring.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone seeking a career in clinical pharmacology?

I would advise someone seeking a career in clinical pharmacology that exciting transdisciplinary research is happening around the world and you should search for something that you find interesting and follow your dream.



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