Biotherapeutic delivery through personalised 3D printed microneedle patches

Join our dynamic research team and be at the forefront of ground-breaking drug delivery advancements. We are offering a fully-funded 36 month PhD studentship (to UK students only) to tackle skin variability challenges through the development of personalised microneedles using cutting-edge 3D printing technology. Personalised microneedle patches offer a revolutionary approach to drug delivery by enhancing drug permeation and providing precise control over release rates. There is growing interest in formulating biotherapeutics such as nucleic acids into microneedle patches to enhance their thermal stability but the potential for personalisation through 3D printing remains unexplored. In this project you will have the opportunity to develop a personalised 3D-printed biotherapeutic microneedle patch with customisable permeation and release profiles, guided by material selection and microneedle design principles. New insights will be gained through the application of world-leading characterisation techniques, such as OrbiSIMS analysis (Starr et al, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2114380119), working within a team with an established track record in biotherapeutic formulation and delivery.

Applications are invited from students with a background in chemistry, pharmaceutical science, biomaterial science or a related discipline, who have or expect to graduate with a first-class or strong 2:1 honours degree, or a distinction or high merit at MSc level. The starting date for the project will be October 2024. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Karen Alvey (karen.alvey@nottingham.ac.uk

) and/or Dr Robert Owen (robert.owen@nottingham.ac.uk) for more details or enquiries about the project. The School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham was ranked 7^th in the world in the 2020 QS World Rankings for pharmacy and pharmacology and 96% of our research is world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021 Results). 

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Karen Alvey (karen.alvey@nottingham.ac.uk) and/or Dr Robert Owen (robert.owen@nottingham.ac.uk) for more details or enquiries about the project.