PhD Drug Design and Delivery

Research within the Drug Design and Delivery research group aims to design and analyse new drugs.

Our research group aims to develop new formulations and characterisation tools towards the delivery and targeting of therapeutic agents in the treatment of:

Inflammatory diseases

Cancers, infections

Asthma, diabetes

CNS conditions

In addition to progressing in-house molecules, the translational thrust of the group is effective in collaborative and fee-for-service research.

We publish high-quality research in peer-reviewed international academic journals and a number of patents have resulted from work in the group. Members of the group are recognised as international leaders in their field and collaborate with groups across the world. We undertake collaborative research with leading Pharma companies and SMEs.

Our members are international leaders in their field, undertaking collaborative research with leading Pharma companies and SMEs, and our work has resulted in a number of patents. We receive UK grants to work with experts in industry who have experience of synthesis and development.

Research in drug discovery involves the chemical synthesis and biological evaluation of compounds and pro-drugs that have potential anticancer and antibacterial properties, as well as the development of new synthetic methods to make such compounds, prodrugs and nano-composites.

Strong formulation activity is built around nano-formulation, biopharmaceutical challenges, aspects of solubilization, and the developmental area of clinical pharmaceutics investigating drug/drug and drug/excipient interaction. We also have experience in the delivery of drugs to the lung.

Research and development in collaboration with industry enables us to understand molecular behaviour in complex environments. Professor Robert Forbes has a track record in this area to help bring new analytical technologies to market and we are working to enhance coating and 3D-printing technologies for drug delivery.

We are also interested in exploiting molecular conformation in the design and preparation of diagnostic probes to detect enzymes over-expressed in disease the bio-membrane interaction of novel nano-sized drug delivery systems and the utilization and validation of our in-house blood brain barrier model.

You need a recognised UK first degree, second class honours or above; or a UK masters degree or equivalent qualification. PhD studentships normally require at least an upper second class honours first degree.