Co-op - Computational Lab

Computational Systems Biology Lab Co-op

United Therapeutics (Nasdaq: UTHR) seeks to travel down the corridors of indifference to develop treatments for rare, deadly diseases. We were founded in 1996 by a family seeking a cure for their daughter's pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Today, we have six FDA-approved therapies that treat PAH, pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD) and neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer. Our near-term pipeline seeks to develop additional therapies for PAH and pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

The cure for end-stage life-threatening diseases like PAH, PH-ILD, PF, and many others is an organ transplant, but only a small percentage of donated organs are available to address the vast need. For this reason, we are working to create manufactured organs to address the shortage of kidneys, hearts, lungs, and livers available for transplant.

UT's computational systems biology lab in Silver Spring, MD is building an in-silico model of the lung to support drug development. In this role as a Spring 2026 Co-op, you will assist in the development and implementation of mathematical models of molecular and physiological processes that regulate lung diseases and drug response. This coop will run from June/July (or sooner) for 6 months.

Conduct research on mathematical modeling approaches to add new features to the in-silico lung model; evaluate suitability for addressing research questions and feasibility of implementation Identify data in the literature and public repositories suitable for training and validating mathematical models Implement mathematical models by developing well-documented code using version control systems Present plans and results regularly to members of the computational lab and other scientists within the company Example projects could include:
Simulate the complex interplay between lung tissue mechanics and fluid dynamics (either air or blood), with a focus on how mechanical alterations due to disease conditions can affect clinical measurements related to hemodynamics and pulmonary function testing Apply statistical / machine learning approaches to analyze large-scale molecular data (transcriptomics, proteomics, etc.) to derive insights into lung function and drug response Generate mechanistic ODE-based models of signaling pathways relevant to lung physiology and drug response, and apply quantitative systems pharmacology approaches to assist with clinical development objectives Apply agent-based modeling to represent behavior of cell populations on tissue engineered scaffolds

Minimum qualifications:

Candidates are expected to be actively enrolled in a Master's or PhD program in a science/engineering discipline Available to work 40 hours/week onsite in Silver Spring, MD Experience with implementation of modeling and simulation (either PDE-based fluid dynamics, ODE-based signaling models, or agent-based modeling) or bioinformatics / machine learning skills (project-dependent) Highly self-motivated Excellent teamwork skills Strong writing and communication skills Proficiency in at least one of the following: R, Python, Julia, Matlab, or other programming language