Featured Researcher: Tunde Bello – Bristol Myers Squibb

Tunde Bello is senior vice president of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacometrics, with a focus on the company’s solid tumor oncology therapeutics. Tunde leads a team of scientists who focus on early- and late-stage clinical development programs, exploring how potential treatments are dosed in various patient populations. Tunde’s team utilizes the science of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; pharmacokinetics explores how a treatment might impact the body and pharmacodynamics explores how the body impacts a potential therapy. 

“We have so many different programs in development, and what I look forward to most is continuing to have our team play a role in the optimal selection of these new potential treatments,” he said. “By doing so, we can continue to utilize innovative modeling and simulation approaches, as well as classical clinical pharmacology approaches, to support the selection and development of these new agents.”

Tunde first began his career at Bristol Myers Squibb over 20 years ago, working in the clinical pharmacokinetic space to support clinical trial and clinical development programs. Prior to joining the company, Tunde spent time at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now part of Sanofi), and would go on to later join Pfizer, before eventually returning to Bristol Myers Squibb a number of years later, and to his current role. Since rejoining the company, Tunde has been instrumental in working to help expand the use of approved treatment options in late-stage development in order to help even more patient populations in need. 

Tunde earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences at Portsmouth University and would go on to earn his master’s degree in instrumentation and analytical sciences at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (both in the United Kingdom). He then earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from King’s College, University of London. However, it wasn’t until Tunde took a job at Bristol Myers Squibb that he left the United Kingdom and moved to the United States, where’s been ever since.