Academic Career 2013 Kanazawa University, Japan Ph.D. in Pharmacokinetics
2009 Tokyo University of Science, Japan M.S. in Pharmacokinetics
2007 Tokyo University of Science B.S. in Pharmacokinetics

Professional Experience 2025–present Full Professor Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University
2021–2025 Associate Professor Faculty of Pharmacy, Kanazawa University, Japan
2016–2021 Assistant Professor Faculty of Pharmacy, Kanazawa University, Japan
2013–2016 Assistant Professor Faculty of Pharmacy, Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Japan

Kunal Taskar, Ph.D., is currently working as Director, Global Head of PBPK Modelling at GSK. Kunal completed his doctorate more than a decade ago and postdoctoral research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences department, USA, in Quentin Smith’s lab with research focused on Neuropharmacokinetics and role of transporters in drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Kunal’s experience and research focus include: PBPK modeling of small/large molecules and new modalities for PK and dose predictions, drug-drug interaction predictions and mechanistic understanding of the clinically occurring drug–drug interactions; and application of PBPK modeling in special populations including pediatrics, pregnancy, and organ impairment. His expertise also includes transporter mediated drug delivery and intracellular drug concentrations, especially the role of uptake and efflux transporters in drug pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics in disease and toxicology; novel transporters and role in drug disposition and use of endogenous probes and modeling for drug mediated transporter modulations.

Kunal is a member of American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT), International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX) and the International Brain Barriers Society. Kunal is a member of several IQ consortiums including MIDD Pilot Program WG, Transporters, Induction PBPK and Pediatric PBPK. He is the founder member and Chair of the ASCPT QP PBPK Community. He received the 2014 AAPS Pharmaceutical Research Meritorious Manuscript Award for a manuscript that was published in the same journal in 2012. He has actively published and given invited talks and conducted workshops at international conferences.

Computational DMPK Leader and Translational PK/PD Project Leader at Roche in Basel, specializing in the application of advanced computational methods, in silico DMPK/PD, and translational pharmacology to accelerate small-molecule drug discovery. With a Ph.D. in Computer-Aided Drug Design, I leverage machine learning, in silico PK prediction, and medicinal chemistry expertise to guide portfolio projects and strengthen scientific decision-making. My work focuses on optimizing screening strategies, improving cycle times, and integrating ADME, DMPK, and pharmacodynamic insights to advance promising candidates toward the clinic.

Dr. Jones received his PhD from Stanford University and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Francisco, before becoming an Assistant Professor in Molecular Pharmacology at City of Hope. There he focused on drug development and translational research in urologic oncology, developing and licensing a lead series for prostate cancer. He also spent a year at Terray Therapeutics before moving to New Zealand, and now has been working at Simulations Plus on the early drug discovery team for over three years.

Dr. Dan Scotcher is a Lecturer in Applied Pharmacokinetics at the University of Manchester, where his research focuses on mechanistic modelling and simulation to understand drug disposition and optimise drug dosing. He has extensive experience in physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling and its application across drug development and clinical pharmacology. Dan currently serves as Chair of the ISSX Modelling & Simulation (M&S) Focus Group.

At Terray Therapeutics, my role involves the design and analysis of small-molecule combinatorial libraries used to drive hit finding around protein targets of interest. My academic background was focused on synthetic organic chemistry during my PhD and work with DNA Encoded Libraries (DELs) during my postdoc.

Jacqueline B. Tiley, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She obtained her MSc in Pharmacy and PhD from the University of Basel in Switzerland. Dr. Tiley completed her postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research program focuses on disease- and drug-mediated alterations in hepatic and placental transport proteins and its impact on drug disposition and toxicity.

Dr. Joanne Wang is a Professor of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in Seattle. She earned her PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and completed postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focuses on membrane transporters and their roles in xenobiotic and nutrient disposition, pharmacokinetics, and drug-induced toxicity. Her current work examines placental transporters in fetal nutrient uptake and drug exposure and applies systems pharmacology and PBPK modeling to predict transporter-mediated drug exposure during pregnancy and lactation.

Dr. Samuel Arnold joined the Department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor in 2023, and his research predominantly focuses on characterizing exposure-response relationships for therapeutic treatment of infectious diarrhea. This work includes the development of novel in vitro and in vivo models for enteric pathogens such as Shigella and clinical pharmacology support for clinical trials investigating novel treatments for enteric infections. In addition to his work on enteric infections, Dr. Arnold is the director of the Bioanalysis and Pharmacokinetics Lab at the University of Washington. This lab supports a variety of internal and external projects using mass spectrometry to quantify small molecules and proteins in complex tissue samples.

Donglu earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry under Professor C. Dale Poulter at the University of Utah in 1990, studying the biosynthesis of archaebacterial membrane lipids. He continued his postdoctoral work at Utah, refining his skills in cloning and purification techniques, and then joined the FDA, where he first explored drug metabolism in microbial systems. Throughout his career, Donglu has combined scientific rigor with creativity, co-inventing mass defect filtering, a tool that revolutionized metabolite identification and has been widely adopted across mass spectrometry platforms.

Donglu’s achievements span decades and have had global impact. He was a key scientific lead in the development of Eliquis (apixaban), one of the top-selling drugs in the U.S., and contributed to the development of Polivy, an antibody-drug conjugate. His work on gemfibrozil glucuronide and atazanavir led the FDA to adopt these compounds as standard probes in clinical drug-drug interaction studies, directly shaping regulatory guidance. He has published more than 136 papers, authored numerous book chapters, and holds patents that have advanced the science of drug metabolism.

At both Bristol-Myers Squibb and Genentech, Donglu has been recognized for his ability to bridge discovery and development. He is known internationally for his expertise, invited as a keynote speaker at the Gordon Research Conference on Drug Metabolism, and has inspired countless colleagues with his commitment to “Science without Borders.”

S. Cyrus Khojasteh heads the Biotransformation Function at Genentech (South San Francisco). His research focuses on the mechanisms of biotransformation in drug discovery and development, from small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates, and macrocyclic peptides. Cyrus received his Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Washington under the direction of Dr. Sidney D. Nelson.

Dr. Obach’s distinguished career at Pfizer Global Research and Development exemplifies the award’s spirit. Rising from Research Scientist to Vice President of Scientific Research, he has advanced global understanding of drug metabolism, enzyme kinetics, bioactivation, and drug-drug interactions. His work has profoundly influenced drug discovery and development, improving the prediction of human pharmacokinetics across therapeutic areas.

A prolific scientist, Dr. Obach has authored more than 240 publications, achieved an H-Index of 76, and garnered over 12,000 citations. His groundbreaking research and mentorship have earned him a global reputation as the “godfather of applied ADME sciences.

Dr. Obach’s contributions extend beyond research. A committed leader within ISSX, he has served as President (2022–2023), President-Elect (2020–2021), and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board (2016–2020), as well as a journal editor for Drug Metabolism and Disposition and Xenobiotica.

This year’s award marks a historic milestone, as Dr. Obach becomes the first industry scientist to receive the R.T. Williams Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award. His career stands as a testament to the excellence, innovation, and dedication that define the ISSX community.

Upendra Dahal is currently a Scientific Director in Pharmacokinetic and Drug Metabolism (PKDM) Department at Amgen. He represents PKDM in multi-disciplinary teams from discovery to development, oversees small molecule projects and outsourcing of ADME studies, and supervises scientists and PTRs. Proficient in designing in vitro and in vivo studies to characterize/understand PKDM properties of the drug candidates, provides recommendations to the teams to design better compounds with minimal metabolic and DDI liabilities. Leading the biotransformation group for small molecule drugs, Upendra reviews data, monitors studies, and addresses PKDM challenges to mitigate risks. His role involves preparing as well as reviewing regulatory documents for IND and NDA submissions. Previously worked at Celgene and Pfizer, Upendra boasts diverse research interests, evidenced by a strong track record of peer-reviewed publications across various domains. Upendra received his PhD focusing on enzyme kinetics and drug metabolism from Washington State University under supervision of Prof. Jeff Jones.

Chen Chen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics at Genentech, Inc. He earned his Ph.D. from the Tri-Institutional Chemical Biology program, a joint offering from Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and The Rockefeller University. His research focuses on the mechanistic understanding of drug clearance pathways, as well as nanoparticle drug assembly and tumor-targeted delivery.

Murali Subramanian is a director of research in DMPK at Gilead Sciences where he is a project leader and DMPK representative for multiple programs in discovery and development across several therapeutic areas. Prior to this, he worked in Janssen Pharmaceutica and Biocon Bristol Myers Squibb Research Center. He obtained his PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Iowa State University and was a postdoctoral and research fellow under Professor Timothy S Tracy and Professor Rory Remmel at the University of Minnesota. His interests lie in the mechanistic understanding and translation of DMPK and ADME principles.

Xinning Yang is a Policy Lead in Guidance & Policy team (GPT) under the Office of Clinical Pharmacology (OCP), CDER of FDA. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Science from University at Buffalo, mentored by Dr. Marilyn Morris. In the past, as a clinical pharmacology reviewer, he reviewed a number of IND/NDA submissions contributing to the benefit/risk assessment of neurology drug products. His current primary focus is guidance and policy development and implementation in various areas, focusing on drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and drug-drug interactions related Clinical Pharmacology issues. He is active in research and led or co-led multiple research projects funded internally. He served as the Chair of Transporter Scientific Interest Group of OCP from 2014 to 2015. He has received a number of individual and team awards from CDER which recognized his contribution to regulatory science and research. He is the Co-Chair of Transporter Focus Group of ISSX and a member of International Transporter Consortium (ITC) committee. He is participating in the International Council Harmonization (ICH) M12 DDI guidance working group. He has been an invited speaker for multiple conferences and workshops and organized symposia at several meetings.