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A Q&A with Sam Callisto, Ph.D., Group Leader PKPD, Principal Scientist I at Metrum Research Group

AI adoption often starts with curiosity: a new tool, an unexplored dataset, or a workflow that could be improved. For Sam Callisto, that curiosity began during graduate research and has since evolved into both professional and personal applications of AI.

Ahead of MetrumRG’s PAGE workshop, Beyond the Hype: Practical Applications of LLMs in Pharmacometrics, Sam shares how his perspective on AI has evolved and where he sees practical value today.

What initially got you excited about AI?

During my graduate work, I was modeling cognitive side effects of antiseizure medications, and we had a huge amount of EEG data available. It felt like we were only extracting a small fraction of the information from it using traditional approaches, which pushed me to start exploring machine learning methods and thinking about how they could be applied in pharmacometrics. Interestingly, I was a relatively late adopter of large language models. My first experiences with ChatGPT were honestly underwhelming, so I didn’t immediately see the practical value. But over the last couple of years, as the models improved and I learned how to use them more effectively, I started incorporating them much more regularly into both my personal workflows and technical exploration.

How are you using AI in your personal life?

I use AI mostly as a tool for brainstorming, planning, and getting to a strong first draft more quickly. One example was putting together a scavenger hunt for my kids around our house. I used AI to help generate age-appropriate clues and hiding spots. It was surprisingly good at coming up with ideas I probably wouldn’t have thought of on my own, and then I could tailor them to our house. Another use case has been vacation planning. I’ve used it to help organize trips by aggregating information from a lot of different sources and suggesting activities, restaurants, and itineraries that fit what my family enjoys. From there I can hone in on what will work best for us, but it's a quick way to get a survey of common activities in a new area.

Join Seth Green and Sam Callisto at PAGE in Dubrovnik, Croatia for Beyond the Hype: Practical Applications of LLMs in Pharmacometrics, a workshop focused on practical, responsible applications of LLMs in scientific workflows. Attendees will leave with a clear, actionable framework for incorporating AI into their work while maintaining scientific integrity and regulatory awareness.

Learn more and register today.