Speakers
We bring together academic and industry experts and thought leaders to share their knowledge and expertise. Our speakers are carefully selected to provide attendees with the most valuable and relevant information.
Marianne Ashford
Marianne Ashford, Senior Principal Scientist, Advanced Drug Delivery, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R & D, AstraZeneca
Marianne Ashford is a Senior Principal Scientist in a global role in Advanced Drug Delivery Department within Pharmaceutical Sciences at AstraZeneca. Marianne is responsible for applying drug delivery approaches to enable the progression of innovative medicines and is working to enable novel targets through targeting and intracellular delivery. She has been instrumental in introducing nanomedicines the AstraZeneca portfolio. She has initiated several collaborations and the building of the internal capability in nanomedicines, drug targeting and intracellular delivery receiving several internal awards for this work.
Previously Marianne held line management roles including leading a Preformulation and Biopharmaceutics Group and project management roles leading pharmaceutical teams and influencing the global product strategy of various AstraZeneca oncology compounds.
Marianne has published over 70 peer reviewed papers and reviews, six book chapters and holds several patents. Marianne holds Honorary Professor roles at the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester. She has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award and is a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society. Marianne has served on numerous academic and industrial scientific committees and advisory boards in the field of drug delivery. She serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Journal of Controlled Release.
Marianne is passionate about using her scientific knowledge and experience to improve therapies for patients and applying drug delivery science to enable medicines of the future.
Professor Ryan Donnelly
Professor Ryan Donnelly, APS Chair and Chair in Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast
Professor Ryan Donnelly holds the Chair in Pharmaceutical Technology at Queen’s University Belfast and is Director of QUB’s interdisciplinary research programme Materials & Advanced Technologies for Healthcare (MATCH). His personal research is centred on design and physicochemical characterisation of advanced polymeric drug delivery systems for transdermal and intradermal drug delivery, with a strong emphasis on improving patient outcomes. He is currently developing a range of novel microneedle technologies through independent research, but also in collaboration with several major pharma partners.
He has obtained substantial UK Research Council, charity and industrial funding and authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications (H-index = 58), including 6 patent applications, 6 textbooks, 23 book chapters and approximately 250 full papers. He has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences. Professor Donnelly is Europe/Africa Editor of Drug Delivery & Translational Research and the Controlled Release Society’s Communications Chair. He has won the Academy of Pharmaceutical Science’s Innovative Science Award (2020), Evonik’s Resomer Award (2018), the Controlled Release Society’s Young Investigator Award (2016), BBSRC Innovator of the Year and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Pharmaceutical Research Meritorious Manuscript Award (2013), the GSK Emerging Scientist Award (2012) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Science Award (2011).
Ryan is the current chair of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the UK.
Professor Twan Lammers
Professor Twan Lammers, PhD, DSc, Department of Nanomedicine and Theranostics, Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, Center for Biohybrid Medical Systems, RWTH Aachen University Clinic, Germany
Twan Lammers obtained a D.Sc. in Radiation Oncology from Heidelberg University in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Technology from Utrecht University in 2009. In the same year, he started the Nanomedicine and Theranostics group at RWTH Aachen University. In 2014, he was promoted to full professor of medicine at RWTH Aachen University Clinic. His group aims to individualize and improve disease treatment by combining drug targeting with imaging. To this end, image-guided (theranostic) drug delivery systems are being developed, as well as materials and methods to monitor tumor growth, angiogenesis, inflammation, fibrosis and metastasis. He has received multiple scholarships and awards, including ERC starting, consolidator and proof-of-concept grants, the CRS Young Investigator Award, the Adritelf International Award, the Belgian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences International Award, and the JNB Trailblazer Award. He served as president of the Controlled Release Society (2023-2024) and has been a council member of the European Society for Molecular Imaging from 2014 onwards. He is a member of the editorial board of 10 journals, and acts as associate editor for JCR, DDTR and MIB. Since 2019, he is included in the Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers.
Professor Dan Peer
Professor Dan Peer, Director, Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicines, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Dan Peer is a Professor and the Director of the Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine at Tel Aviv University (TAU). He is also the Vice President for Research and Development in Tel Aviv University, the biggest university in Israel. From 2017, he is the Founding and Managing Director of the SPARK program, Center for Translational Medicine at TAU.
Professor Peer’s work was among the first to demonstrate systemic delivery of RNA molecules using targeted nanocarriers to the immune system and he pioneered the use of RNA interference (RNAi) as drug discovery tools in immune cells. In addition, his lab was the first to show systemic, cell specific delivery of modified mRNA in animals. This strategy has enormous implications in cancer, inflammation, and infectious diseases. His lab developed one of the largest lipid library with unique properties and strategies to immobilized natural ligands and antibodies on the surface of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for cell specific delivery of RNA payloads.
His lab was also the first to show systemic, high efficiency, cell specific, therapeutic genome editing in cancer. Recently, his lab also showed the first bacterial mRNA vaccine that opened new potential field of increasing the arsenal of vaccines against antibiotic resistance strains.
Prof. Peer has more than 140 pending and granted patents. Some of them have been licensed to several pharmaceutical companies and his innovations have now been tested in more than 6 different clinical trials. In addition, based on his lab work, four spin-off companies were generated aiming to bring innovative personalized medicine into clinical practice. Prof. Peer was the President of the Israeli Chapter of the CRS from 2014-2016. He is a scientific advisory board member in more than 15 companies and on the scientific advisory board of more than 20 journals. In 2014, he was elected to the Israel Young Academy. In 2023, he was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering.
Professor Dame Molly Stevens
Professor Dame Molly Stevens DBE FRS FREng, John Black Professor of Bionanoscience, University of Oxford and a part-time Professor, Imperial College London and the Karolinska Institute, UK
Professor Dame Molly Stevens is the John Black Professor of Bionanoscience at the University of Oxford and a part-time professor at Imperial College London and the Karolinska Institute. Molly’s multidisciplinary research balances the investigation of fundamental science with the development of technology to address some of the major healthcare challenges. She is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of several companies in the diagnostics, advanced therapeutics, and regenerative medicine fields. Her work has been instrumental in elucidating bio-material interfaces. She has created a broad portfolio of designer biomaterials for applications in disease diagnostics and regenerative medicine. Her substantial body of work influences research groups around the world and she has been multiple times listed as Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher in Cross-Field research.
Molly holds numerous leadership positions, Deputy Director of the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Deputy Director of the UK Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research Hub, and Scientist Trustee of the National Gallery. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Engineering (USA), an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she was recognised with the 2023 Novo Nordisk Prize and the 2024 Royal Society Armourers and Brasiers Company Prize, amongst many other accolades.
Professor James Birchall
Professor James Birchall PhD FHEA, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Deputy Head of School, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales, UK
Professor Birchall graduated from Bath University in 1993 and completed his PhD researching drug and DNA delivery systems in 1998 (Cardiff University). Current research is focused on microneedle delivery of molecules, macromolecules, vaccines, auto-antigens and cells into skin and also includes pulmonary drug delivery formulations and devices. Professor Birchall has acted as an expert advisor to the WHO and the British Pharmacopoeia and conducted multi-disciplinary research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, EU, DFID, NIH, Wellcome Trust, EPSRC, MRC, Welsh Government, Royal Society, Innovate UK and various charities and pharmaceutical companies.
David J. Brayden
PhD, FAAPS, MRIA
David Brayden, Ph.D., FAAPS, MRIA, Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery, Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Ireland
David Brayden is a Full Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin (UCD) and a Senior Fellow of the UCD Conway Institute of Biotechnology in Ireland. David is a pharmacologist who obtained his PhD from the University of Cambridge, (UK) followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, CA, USA. He then spent 10 years as a senior scientist at Elan Pharmaceuticals from 1991-2001 working on oral drug delivery. He is the author or co-author of more than 300 research publications and patents in the areas of epithelial ion transport, oral peptide delivery, and nanomedicine. David was elected as a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society (CRS, 2012), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS, 2017) and the Royal Irish Academy (2024). He was the Director of a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Research Cluster grant (The Irish Drug Delivery Research Network) from 2007-2013. He was the Deputy Coordinator of an EU 7th Framework grant on oral nanomedicines (www.TRANS-INT.eu), 2012-2017. In 2014, he became a co-lead PI on the SFI Centre for Medical Devices (CURAM) (2014-2026). He is also the current coordinator of BUCCAL-PEP, an EU Horizon Europe grant on buccal administration of peptides, (2023-2026). He was Chairman of the UK-Ireland Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (2003-2006), served on the CRS Board of Scientific Advisors (2006-2009) and the CRS Annual Meeting Programme Committees (2015, 2016). In 2021 David was appointed Chief Editor of “Frontiers in Drug Delivery”. Also in 2021, he was appointed by Ireland’s Minister of Health to the National Research Ethics Committee (Clinical Trials) and was re-appointed as a chairperson in 2024. He consults for Biotech and Pharma working on oral peptide delivery and is a member of the Science Advisory Boards of several companies.
Professor Robert Carlisle
Professor Robert Carlisle, Professor in Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford
Robert Carlisle is a Professor in Biomedical Engineering. After completing a BSc in Biochemistry, an MSc in Toxicology and a Ph.D in Gene Delivery at Birmingham University, he worked for 8 years within the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and the Department of Oncology at the University of Oxford. In 2012 he became a member of the Engineering Science Faculty.
The majority of Bob’s work has been concerned with achieving systemic delivery of anti-cancer agents for the treatment of metastatic cancer. This has included the development and testing of novel nano-scale non-viral and viral gene delivery systems and liposomal agents for the delivery of conventional chemotherapeutics.
Research within his labs covers the full scope of therapeutic design, formulation and testing with emphasis on how the specificity and efficacy of therapy can be improved. Clinical and commercial translation is a focus and Bob is a co-founder of OxSonics Ltd and a Co-PI on clinical trials, most recently the CEeDD Phase I trial of technology developed in the lab for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer in the liver.
He is the Director of the MSc in Nanotechnology for Medicine and Healthcare and the Oxford Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Engineering Biology.
Dr Faz Chowdhury
Dr Faz Chowdhury, CEO, Landmark Vaccines Limited, Loughborough, UK
Dr Faz Chowdhury is a seasoned Scientist in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, with over 20 years of experience in developing transdermal and microneedle-based systems for drug delivery and diagnostic applications. As the former CEO of Nemaura Medical Inc., he oversaw the development of cutting-edge non-invasive health monitoring technologies. Dr Chowdhury holds a Doctorate from the University of Oxford in nano-medicine and drug delivery and a Masters in Microsystems and Nanotechnology from Cranfield University, UK. With more than 100 patents granted or pending, and as a contributor to key publications in nano-biosciences, he has made significant contributions to advancing drug delivery and diagnostic technologies.
Dr Sara Cordeiro
Dr Sara Cordeiro, Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
Sara Cordeiro is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy at De Montfort University (Leicester, UK). Following a PharmD from the University of Porto (Portugal) and a PhD in Drug Research and Development from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), she worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast (Belfast, UK). Throughout these years, Sara has developed a background in pharmaceutical formulation, drug delivery, nanomedicine, vaccine delivery and microneedles for transdermal drug delivery and diagnostics. Currently, she is establishing her independent research group with a focus on improving and facilitating patients’ lives through the development of drug and vaccine delivery systems that are easy to manufacture and scale-up, highly efficient and administered through non-invasive routes.
Dr Nigel Davies
Dr Nigel Davies, (BPharm, MRPHarmS, PhD), Senior Principal Scientist in Advanced Drug Delivery, Pharmaceutical Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Sweden
On joining AstraZeneca in 2008, Nigel had “CMC” responsibilities for a number of projects spanning Phase 1 to life-cycle management, having particular involvement in bioequivalence/biowaiver strategies and regulatory submissions for several now approved products including Vimovo, Nexium OTC, Kombi/Komboglyze, Forxiga, Xigduo/Xigduo XR and QTERN..
Since transitioning to the Advanced Drug Delivery group in the Innovative Medicine Early Development function in 2014, Nigel has pioneered AstraZeneca’s efforts into the delivery of mRNA therapeutics as well as oral delivery of macromolecules resulting in a number of assets progressing from early pre-clinical evaluation to clinical testing.
Before joining AstraZeneca, Nigel had almost 20 years tenure in academia at Universities in New Zealand and Australia leading research groups focusing on developing novel delivery systems for macromolecules. Over the years in academia, Nigel secured >US$2.5 million in competitive research grants (as principle or co-investigator), supervised (to completion) 19 post-graduate students and authored/co-authored 2 book chapters and >70 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Nigel strives to combine his research and drug development experience to identify and develop novel systems and strategies (both internal and via external collaborations) to overcome the challenges associated with the delivery of macromolecules in order to advance AstraZeneca’s portfolio.
Maxine den Hartog
Maxine den Hartog, PhD Candidate, King’s Forensic Biochemistry Group, King’s College London, UK
Ms. Maxine den Hartog is a PhD student in the King’s Forensic Biochemistry group. She received a BSc in Neuroscience from University College London in 2022, graduating with first-class honours. Following this, she earned an MRes degree in Forensic Science from King’s College London with a distinction.
Her research focuses on developing novel optical biosensors for forensic analysis, with a particular interest in using aptamers as biocomponents and incorporating nanomaterials into biosensor design. Maxine’s work aims to enhance forensic detection methods for body fluids and small molecule detection.
Dr Ricardo Diaz de Leon Ortega
Dr Ricardo Diaz de Leon Ortega, Modelling and Simulation Research Fellow, Quotient Sciences, UK
Ricardo is a Modelling and Simulation Research Fellow at Quotient Sciences in Nottingham, UK, where he supports clinical studies and formulation development with his knowledge in biopharmaceutics and modelling and simulation. He holds a PhD in Pharmacy and Pharmacology from the University of Bath. Ricardo’s work encompasses areas such as biopharmaceutics, modelling and simulation, dissolution, bioequivalence, and in vitro DMPK.
Dr Alvaro Goyanes
Dr Alvaro Goyanes Goyanes, CEO and Co-founder, FABRX Limited, UK
Alvaro Goyanes is the co-founder and CEO of FABRX, the first company dedicated to developing 3D printing technology for the fabrication of personalized medicines and medical devices. He is also an Honorary Lecturer at University College London’s School of Pharmacy (UK) and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).
A pioneer in the field, Alvaro was among the first researchers to explore the potential of 3D printing for manufacturing oral dosage forms and medical devices. Recognized as a world expert in 3D-printed medicines, he has been listed among the World’s Most Highly Influential Researchers by Web of Science for six consecutive years since 2019.
Alvaro holds a PhD in Pharmaceutics from the University of Santiago de Compostela and previously worked as a Registered Pharmacist for three years, giving him first hand insight into the needs of community pharmacy.
Bart Hens
Bart Hens, Drug Product Design Biomodeler and Biopharmaceutics Principal Scientist, Drug Product Design, Pfizer, Belgium
During his dissertation research, Bart Hens (Pharm.D., Ph.D.) focused on the behaviour of oral drug products in the human gastrointestinal tract at KU Leuven, Belgium. Based on the results of these studies, he started to use these data as a reference for optimization and validation of different in vitro and in silico models to increase their predictive power towards the in vivo outcome of an oral drug product. His Ph.D. project was part of a bigger European project between academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies (www.orbitoproject.eu). In January 2017, Bart started to work as a postdoctoral research fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Gordon L. Amidon at the University of Michigan, where they both explored the impact of gastrointestinal physiology on oral drug behaviour by performing clinical aspiration studies. The gathered knowledge was used as a reference to develop a formulation predictive dissolution (fPD) test for oral drug products. This work was supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). From 2018 Bart was assigned as a postdoctoral researcher at the department of pharmaceutical and pharmacological sciences (Drug Delivery and Disposition lab, KU Leuven) focusing on the impact of ‘real-life’ intake conditions on the behaviour of a drug product along the gastrointestinal tract. This project was granted by a postdoctoral scholarship from the Flemish Research Council (FWO). Since November 2020, Bart worked as a biopharmaceutics scientist and drug product design biomodeler under the supervision of Dr. Mark McAllister. After a reorganization in 2023, Bart reports to the US Biopharm group (Groton, CT) and support internal projects as a principal scientist in Biopharmaceutics and Biomodeling. In addition to internal project support, Bart is actively involved in external projects and is still active in performing fundamental and applied science in the field of oral biopharmaceutics and PBPK modeling.
Dr Prajakta Dandekar Jain
Dr. Prajakta Dandekar Jain, UGC Assistant Professor in Engineering Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, India
Dr. Prajakta Dandekar Jain is UGC Assistant Professor at Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology (DPST), Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, India. She completed her Ph.D. in Bioprocess Technology from the same department in 2010, following which she was the first women researcher to receive the RESPIRE long-term fellowship from the European Respiratory Society (ERS)-Marie Curie Co-fund, to conduct research in siRNA delivery systems for alleviating lung infections. She conducted this research at the Helmholtz Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Saarland, Germany for two years. Currently, her research work is focused in the areas of nanofibers for tissue engineering, 3D cell culture technology, microfluidic technology for organ development, 3D bioprinting and green technology. She has guided 10 Ph.D. students and over thirty masters’ students. She has authored over 125 publications in international journals, 2 books, 11 book chapters and has been awarded six design patents and one process patent in 3D cell culture during her research career of about eighteen years. She has received various awards including OPPI Women Scientist Award 2024 by Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, Dr. Dipti M. Kapoor Endowment Award 2024 by Society of Alternative to Animals-India, Swami Vivekanand Yuva Puraskar 2023 by RSS Jankalyan Samiti, Maharashtra Branch, Pune, Uncha Maza Zoka Award by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Savitribai Phule Stree Gaurav Puraskar, Maharashtra Seva Sangha, Mumbai, N R Kamath book awards, M.V. Deshpande and Dept. of Atomic Energy Young Scientist Awards, Young Associate of Maharashtra Academy of Sciences etc. She was also instrumental in initiating the Dept. of Biotechnology, Govt. of India sponsored M.Tech. in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology program at DPST, ICT, Mumbai and is currently the coordinator of this program.
Arwyn T. Jones
Arwyn T. Jones, Professor of Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales, UK
Arwyn obtained his PhD, under the supervision of Sir Tom Blundell, in protein crystallography at Birkbeck College, University of London. He then undertook postdoctoral research on endocytosis at the University of Liverpool, Harvard University and EMBL Heidelberg- as EMBO and Alexander von Humboldt fellow. Following a BBC Scholarship to gain a Diploma in Journalism at Bangor University he was appointed as lecturer at the Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University. There, he is now Professor of Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery and Director for Research Innovation and Engagement
His research falls under themes of cancer cell biology, endocytosis and drug delivery, all of which aim to enhance our capacity to deliver small molecule drugs and biopharmaceuticals to defined regions of cells. He has published >100 papers and throughout his career he has collaborated with a long list of national and international academic groups, SMEs and major companies. He currently sits as Editorial Board member of J. Controlled Release and Membranes. Arwyn is also extremely proactive in public engagement with science, organising small and large science exhibitions locally in Cardiff and across Wales- see home page for details.
Dr Olaf Kelber
Dr Olaf Kelber, Scientific Strategy Phytomedicines, Bayer Distinguished Science Fellow, Research and Development, Phytomedicines Supply and Development Center, Bayer Consumer Health, Germany
Olaf Kelber is research scientist and Bayer Distinguished Science Fellow at the Phytomedicines Supply and development Center of Bayer Consumer Health in Darmstadt, Germany. He is biologist with specialization in toxicology and has a mas-ter´s degree in pharmaceutical medicine.
He was leading the pharmacological laboratory of the site, before he took over the scientific project management for the re-registration of a broad portfolio of herbal medicinal products, building a broad spectrum of academic collaborations in the field.
He then was leader of the clinical research and medical information team of the site, before changing to his present functions. He was leading diverse projects in the fields of quality, toxicology, pharmacology, clinics, safety, real world evidence and sustainability of herbal medicinal products.
He is author or co-author of more than 70 publications in scientific journals and 700 contributions to scientific congresses. He is member of the Q3C working group of ICH, Geneva, the steering committee of the Botanical Safety Consortium (BSC), Washington DC, the scientific working group of Kooperation Phytopharmaka, Bonn and the board of the German Society for Phytotherapy, Bonn, and is secretary of the Society of Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA).
Dr Jenny Lam
MPharm MBEth PhD SFHEA
Dr Jenny Lam, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy, UK
Dr Jenny Lam is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics at the UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London. Jenny obtained her MPharm and PhD from The University of Nottingham. In her PhD study, she investigated the use of non-viral vectors for gene delivery. Jenny was then awarded the Maplethorpe Fellowship, continued her research in nucleic acid delivery at King’s College London. She then joined the University of Hong Kong as Assistant Professor to help setting up a Bachelor of Pharmacy Programme and returned to the UK in 2022.
Jenny’s research is focused on the development of novel delivery system for a wide range of therapeutics including small molecules, nucleic acids and biologics, with special interest in the use of particle engineering methods to produce aerosol formulations for the treatment/prevention of respiratory diseases. She is the principal investigator of a number of competitive grants. She has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles and filed a number of patent applications on pulmonary drug delivery systems. In 2020, she was awarded the DDL (Drug Delivery to the Lungs) Emerging Scientist Award which recognised her significant accomplishment and innovation in inhalation science.
Professor Neill Liptrott
Professor Neill Liptrott, Chair in Pharmacology and Immunocompatibility, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, UK
Professor Liptrott is Chair of Pharmacology and Immunocompatibility, based at the University of Liverpool, and has a background in pharmacology, immunology, and molecular cell biology. His research investigates the biological interactions of complex medicines and advanced therapies such as cellular therapies. This work encompasses the assessment of the biocompatibility, immunomodulatory potential and risk of these novel therapeutic strategies. Prof. Liptrott’s team is also investigating impacts on cellular health and metabolism that may underpin these interactions, particularly concerning longer-term exposure to these advanced therapies. His research has helped underpin the successful translation of the first solid drug nanoparticle formulations through GMP manufacture towards healthy volunteer bioequivalence studies for use in HIV treatment. He is the principal investigator for the Liverpool Immunocompatibility Group, Coordinator of the Liverpool Nanotherapeutics Hub, Platform manager (Nanotherapeutics) for the Infection Innovation Consortium (iiCON), Steering committee member for the UK Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre (IDDC), and biocompatibility lead for the recently established Centre of Excellence for Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT) at the University of Liverpool. His group continues to support developers of advanced therapeutics in their efforts to reach clinical studies.
Dr Rebecca Notman
Dr Rebecca Notman, Associate Professor in Computational Biochemistry, School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, UK
Dr Rebecca Notman is an Associate Professor in the School of Biochemistry at the University of Bristol and a Royal Society University Research Fellow (2012–2025). She is an expert in biomolecular simulation, leading a research team that applies molecular dynamics simulations to study biological systems, particularly lipid membranes and proteins. Her research focuses on understanding and predicting how molecular structure and interactions give rise to experimentally observed behaviours.
A key focus of Dr Notman’s work is the molecular structure and organization of the human skin barrier. For over 20 years, she has developed computational models of stratum corneum lipids and proteins that have advanced understanding of the skin’s barrier function, mechanical properties, and mechanisms of action of chemical penetration enhancers. Her research has applications in transdermal and topical drug delivery, dermatological formulations, safety and risk assessment, and personal care product design. Through collaborations with experimental and industrial partners, she provides molecular-level insights that guide pharmaceutical and biomedical innovations.
Before joining Bristol, Dr Notman held academic positions in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick, including Reader (2024), Associate Professor (2017–2024), and Assistant Professor (2012–2017). She was previously an independent Science City Research Fellow (2009–2012) and a postdoctoral research associate (2007–2009), also at Warwick. She holds a PhD in Computational Pharmaceutical Science from King’s College London and an MSc in Molecular Modelling and a BSc in Biochemistry from Cardiff University.
Julian Quodbach, PhD
Julian Quodbach, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Julian Quodbach is a pharmacist by training with a PhD in pharmaceutics from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany. Since 2015 he is researching 3D printing as manufacturing tool for pharmaceutical products. After a postdoc at the Drug Delivery Group at Uppsala University, Sweden in 2019, Julian Quodbach returned to Düsseldorf to continue his work on 3D printing. In January 2022, Julian joined the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences at Utrecht University, The Netherlands as Assistant Professor. There, he connects his academic work on 3D printing of medicines with clinical translation and application.
Dr Gaia Scalabrino
Dr Gaia A. Scalabrino, NatPro Executive Director, NatPro Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Dr Gaia Scalabrino is a life science professional with strategic and operations experience in product development, management and sustainability practices across the private and public sectors.
Dr Scalabrino is the Executive Director of NatPro, Trinity Centre for Natural Products Research, at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Gaia is also on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research, with reach over 90 countries. In Ireland, she is a member of the Steering Group of the Irish Bioeconomy Forum, driven by Irish government, engaging in national bioeconomy policy implementation. She is an early adopter of sustainability practices in Ireland, including My Green Labs and B Corp (she is a B Leader).
Gaia is passionate of transforming innovation into sustainable commercial opportunities to benefit health and building business good practices. In her role of Operations and Pharmaceutical Management Consultant at HiTech Health Ltd, she advised SMEs based in EU and US to support their business growth and product development portfolio. As Vice President of Operations and Quality at Trino Therapeutics Ltd, Gaia led the biotech start-up from research to clinical development in the area of GI inflammation.
Gaia has a Ph.D. in Natural Products Organic Chemistry and postgraduate qualifications in business, project management and regulations. She is a globe trotter and a triathlete. She enjoys photography and writing. Gaia was raised in a multi-cultural environment, living in Italy and Kenya, she then moved to U.K. and currently lives in Ireland.
Raymond Schiffelers
Raymond Schiffelers, Professor of Nanomedicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands
Raymond Schiffelers studied Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University (1990-1995). After an industrial traineeship at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (UK) he did his PhD at Erasmus University Rotterdam on liposomal targeting of antimicrobial agents (1996-2001). Subsequently he became post-doc at Utrecht University working on liposomes targeting tumor vasculature. In 2002-2003, at Intradigm Co (USA) he moved to delivery of RNA. After his return to Utrecht University he became assistant and then associate professor. He received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2010 to investigate extracellular vesicles as biological drug delivery systems for RNA. After he moved to University Medical Center Utrecht in 2011 he became professor of nanomedicine working on bio-inspired and synthetic drug delivery systems. He coordinates a H2020 project (EXPERT (15 M€), a Horizon Europe project, NANO-ENGINE (3 M€), and an NWA-ORC project NANOSPRESSO-NL (9 M€), all devoted to RNA delivery. He is editor for the International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Journal of Controlled Release and Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, and is founder of EXCYTEX-an extracellular vesicle-based company. Since 2021 he also works part-time for Nanocell Therapeutics as VP Preclinical R&D and has been elected president of the European Technology Platform Nanomedicine since 2021.
Purav Shah
(M.Sc. (Hons), B. Pharm)
Purav Shah (M.Sc. (Hons), B. Pharm), Chief Scientific Officer, Thoroughbred Remedies Manufacturing. TRM, Ireland
Purav Shah currently serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at TRM, Ireland, one of Europe’s largest manufacturers and distributors of equine supplements. A distinguished (bio)pharmaceutical science researcher, formulator, and tech-transfer expert, he brings a wealth of expertise in novel product development (NPD), scale-ups, and analytical research. Purav is a national and university gold medalist in his Bachelor of Pharmacy program and holds a First-Class Honours Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
With over four years of industry experience, Purav has successfully developed seven new products, currently valued at over €6 million in the global market. His leadership in R&D & innovation strategy has garnered widespread industry recognition, including the prestigious ‘Best New Product of the Year 2023’ award at the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) Awards across the UK for one of his developed products.
Purav’s achievements have been recognized through a series of esteemed honours, such as the Prof. M. L. Shroff Medal (2019) from the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) J. B. Mody Excellent Performance Award (2020), and the T. N. Vasudevan Award (2020) for academic excellence. He was also awarded the ‘Best All-Star’ Title at the American Association for Precision Medicine (AAPM) ACT2HACK COVID-19 Hackathon (2020) for developing an AI-based diagnostic technique, among other innovation and excellence accolades.
Beyond his commercial success, Purav is a prolific author, having contributed over 10 research articles, review articles, book chapters, and newsletters. He also serves on the committee of the United Kingdom & Ireland Controlled Release Society (UKICRS). Passionate about translating research into real-world applications, Purav continues to lead advancements in drug delivery systems, innovation, and affordable healthcare solutions.
Dr Felix Stader
Dr Felix Stader PhD, Certara Predictive Technologies, UK
Felix Stader is an Associate Principal Scientist at Certara UK. Following his studies in biology and pharmaceutical science, Felix investigated the impact of advanced age on the pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interaction magnitudes, using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model coded in Matlab during his PhD.
At Certara UK, Felix worked extensively on the biologics models of the Simulator including subcutaneous dosing of therapeutic proteins, oligonucleotides, and the possibility to simulate therapeutic protein disposition in children. Additionally, Felix has broad experience in developing population and compound files.
Chris Vernall
Chris Vernall, EVP, Business Development, HCmed Innovations, UK
Chris is currently Executive Vice President of Business Development at HCmed Innovations, where his responsibilities include helping customers in Europe and North America to progress their inhaled medicines using HCmed’s proprietary mesh nebuliser device technologies. He also actively seeks partnerships and collaborations across the respiratory industry.
Chris is a Chemist by training and holds a master’s degree in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Loughborough University. He also holds a master’s degree in Executive Leadership from Imperial College Business School. He started his career at Nanopharm in 2010, as an Inhalation Scientist, working on formulation development and analytical testing projects, before moving to Intertek in 2013, as a Senior Scientist.
Chris progressed into a business development role at Intertek in 2014 and has also worked in commercial roles at Aptar Pharma and Vectura.
Chris is incredibly passionate about respiratory drug product development and regularly advises companies on technical and commercial strategy for their programs. More recently, he has helped to set up and chair the Inhaled and Nasal Biologics and DNA Forum, an annual conference located in Cambridge, UK, now in its fourth year. He was also previously the Chair of the Inhaled and Nasal Biologics Steering Committee in the IPAC-RS (International Pharmaceutical Aerosol Consortium – Regulatory and Science) group.
Dr Leon F. Willis MRSC
Dr Leon F Willis MRSC, Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, UK
I graduated with an MChem in Biological Chemistry from the University of Sheffield in 2014. I then joined the labs of Profs David Brockwell, Sheena Radford, Nik Kapur and Alison Ashcroft as a PhD student at the University of Leeds, graduating in 2018. I have stayed in the same groups for my postdoctoral research, funded by the EPSRC (Doctoral Prize Fellowship and now as researcher Co-I) and multiple industrial collaborators. My research focusses on fundamentally understanding how hydrodynamic forces promote the aggregation of therapeutic antibodies, then combining this knowledge with other biophysical assays to aid the manufacture of these molecules. I have recently developed an analytical framework to analyse and condense the outputs from these varied biophysical tests.
If you have any questions please send us an email to [email protected] and one of our team will come back to you.