Pre-Conference MBMA Workshop at PAGE 2026

Price: $590 [€500] (Academic $295 [€250])

For academic pricing, contact info@certarauniversity.com. Be prepared to offer some evidence (such as an academic email address or a student ID) that you are eligible for the discount. 

Course Description

Attendees of this one-day workshop will learn about model-based meta-analysis (MBMA) – starting with the basic principles of meta-analysis and moving toward detailed applications of complex MBMA methodologies.   Concepts will be explained using case studies, accompanied by detailed hands-on exercises based on Certara’s CODEx software platform, R scripts and real datasets

Topics

This workshop will cover some critical topics, including:

• MBMA of binary and continuous data

• Dose-response relationships

• Longitudinal data

• Exploration of covariate effects

• Joint MBMA of multiple endpoints

• Methodological aspects

  • Relative effect vs absolute outcome modeling

  • Unstructured (nonparametric) placebo methodology

  • Prognostic vs. predictive covariates

  • Random effects and weighting of data

  • Data transformations

Materials Provided

• Slide deck

• Datasets

• R scripts for hands-on sessions

  • Participant versions provided ahead of time

  • Teacher versions provided during hands-on sessions

Requirements

• Attendees should bring a computer and power cord with powerpoint and/or pdf reader and R version 4.3.x or later (RStudio also preferred). 

• It is highly encouraged that attendees have experience with data analysis and modeling in R (e.g., nlme library). Proficiency in basic probability and statistics concepts is recommended.

Location:  

The course will take place at the Valamar President Hotel, in the Olipa 2 meeting room. This hotel is approximately a 9-minute walk from the Lacroma Valamar Hotel, where the PAGE conference is being held, in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Date and Time:

Tuesday, 2 June 2026 from 08:00 to 17:00  (Lunch Included)

Instructors

Matt Zierhut, PhD, MBA.  

Matt Zierhut has spent more than 16 years in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on methodologies and applications of model-based meta-analysis (MBMA) for the past 13+ years.  He is currently a vice president at Certara, leading their global MBMA team.

Prior to joining Certara in 2021, Matt led the development of Janssen’s MBMA capabilities, directly impacting multiple critical development decisions.  He also worked in the Pharmacometrics groups at both Pfizer and Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Matt spent some time as a management consultant and received an MBA, which has encouraged him to emphasize the business applications of modeling and simulation, improving internal decisions and regulatory interactions.

Paul Diderichsen, PhD

Paul Diderichsen has spent more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry and consulting, with extensive experience in pharmacometrics and model-informed drug development. He is currently Vice President and Regional Lead, Europe/Africa, in Certara’s Quantitative Science Services practice, where he leads multidisciplinary teams delivering quantitative decision support across all phases of drug development.

Prior to and during his 15 years at Certara, Paul has worked with a broad range of biotech and pharmaceutical companies, as well as held roles at AbbVie and Novo Nordisk. His work has spanned population PK, PKPD, exposure–response, C-QTc analysis, and model-based meta-analysis (MBMA), supporting both internal development decisions and regulatory interactions. With a background in applied physics and a PhD in mechanism-based modeling from the Technical University of Denmark, he is passionate about applying modeling and simulation to reduce development risk and help bring effective therapies to patients.

Li Qin, PhD

Li Qin has spent more than 8 years on quantitative consulting services working on various projects of model-informed drug development, including population PK/PD, exposure–response, and model-based meta-analysis (MBMA). In the past years, she has focused on applying clinical outcome data and MBMA to support critical drug development decisions across various therapeutic fields. Currently, she works as Director in Certara’s Quantitative Science Services. Prior to joining Certara, she worked as a postdoc and senior researcher in the field of pharmacology, aging, and health assessment in Academic research Centers. She has Ph.D in Epidemiology and B.Eng in Environmental Engineering.