Jiawei Zhou

Jiawei Zhou is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her research integrates pharmacometrics, machine learning, and experimental pharmacology to advance translational drug development and precision medicine, with particular focus on oncology applications.

Dr. Zhou earned her PhD from UNC and a B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Tsinghua University. Prior to joining the faculty in December 2024, she worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a clinical pharmacometrician, contributing to late-stage drug development across multiple therapeutic areas, including COVID-19 mRNA vaccine programs.

Her research program focuses on three main areas: (1) Revolutionizing Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) Analysis with Population Modeling to enhance clinical decision-making; (2) Integrating AI into Pharmacometrics to automate code generation and improve model selection; and (3) Advancing Translational Science for Complex Therapeutics like mRNA-LNP platforms through quantitative PK/PD modeling. These efforts bridge computational and experimental approaches to accelerate drug development and optimize patient care.

Analysis of her recent publications (2021-2025) reveals a clear trajectory toward more sophisticated integration of machine learning with traditional pharmacometric approaches, with growing emphasis on patient-centered outcomes and complex therapeutic modalities like mRNA-LNP systems. Her work spans oncology, supportive care, and vaccine development, demonstrating remarkable versatility while maintaining a strong methodological foundation in quantitative pharmacology.

Dr. Zhou has received numerous honors and awards, including:

• Early Career Researcher Award from PharmAlliance (2025)
• Travel Award from Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (2022)
• Multiple awards from UNC-Chapel Hill including the J. Heyward Hull Award and GSK Fellowship
• Student Poster Awards from professional societies

She mentors several graduate students and research assistants across multiple disciplines, including biostatistics, mathematics, and pharmaceutical sciences. Her lab has secured funding through competitive fellowships and awards, including the PharmAlliance Early Career Researcher Award. Dr. Zhou actively collaborates with researchers across UNC and with pharmaceutical industry partners.

The Zhou Lab at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy brings together quantitative clinical pharmacologists, data scientists, and experimental pharmacologists to develop and apply innovative approaches that bridge computational modeling with in vivo and in vitro studies. The lab culture emphasizes both methodological rigor and translational impact, with projects spanning from basic method development to clinical applications.