CRS Board of Directors 2024-2025
President, Avi Schroeder, Ph.D.
Avi Schroeder is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he heads the Laboratory for Targeted Drug Delivery and Personalized Medicine Technologies (https://www.schroederlab.com/ ). Dr. Schroeder conducted his Postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. jointly at the Hebrew and Ben Gurion Universities. Avi is the recipient of more than 30 national and international awards, including being named a KAVLI Fellow, the Intel Nanotechnology-, TEVA Pharmaceuticals-, and the Wolf Foundation Krill Awards. Avi is the author of more than 60 research papers inventor of 19 patents and co-founder of multiple startup companies based on these discoveries. Schroeder is a member of Israel Young National-Academy-of-Sciences, the President of the Israel Institute of Chemical Engineers and Chaired the CRS Local Chapters up to 2020.
President-Elect, Maria Vicent, Ph.D.
María J. Vicent gained her Ph.D. in 2001 from Univ. Jaume I (Spain) after several scientific stays at Fréchet’s lab. (Univ. California Berkeley, USA). She moved to the Centre for Polymer Therapeutics at Cardiff Univ with Prof. R. Duncan in 2002 after receiving a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2004, María joined CIPF (Valencia, Spain) through a Marie Curie Reintegration contract and became head of the Polymer Therapeutics Lab in 2006, where she oversees the Screening Platform- an ERIC-EU-OPENSCREEN specialist site and coordinates the Advanced Therapies Program. María’s research group focuses on the application of polymer therapeutics in unmet clinical needs thanks to funding by national and EU grants. She has received several prizes and has been elected as a member of the AIMBE and CRS College of Fellows. She has published over 140 papers and 13 patents, three already licensed to industry and a fourth used as the foundation of the company PTS (Valencia, Spain) in 2012 now named Curapath after being acquired by Arcline Venture firm in 2021. María was the SPLC-CRS president (2010-2013) and the AMPC chair of the annual CRS meeting in 2019. Currently acts as, advisory board member of many journals in the field including JCR, and she’s editor in chief of ADDR starting January 23.
Immediate Past-President, Twan Lammers, Ph.D.
Twan Lammers obtained a D.Sc. in Radiation Oncology from Heidelberg University in 2008 and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from Utrecht University in 2009. In the same year, he started the Nanomedicine and Theranostics group at the Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging at RWTH Aachen University. In 2014, he was promoted to full professor of medicine at RWTH Aachen University Clinic.
His research team aims to individualize and improve the treatment of severe diseases 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 published over 250 papers (19000 citations, h-index 75), and received multiple scholarships and awards, including a starting and consolidator grant from the European Research Council, and the Young Investigator Award of the Controlled Release Society. He is on the editorial board of 10 journals and acts as a handling editor for the Journal of Controlled Release, Drug Delivery and Translational Research, and Molecular Imaging and Biology. Since 2019, he is included in the Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers.
Twan Lammers has been on the Board of Directors of the Controlled Release Society since 2018. From 2014-2020, he also served on the Council of the European Society for Molecular Imaging.
Secretary, Bruno Sarmento, Ph.D.
Dr Bruno Sarmento is Principal Investigator and Professor of Drug Delivery at Institute of Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) – University of Porto, the most important research center on biomedicine in Portugal. He gained his PhD from the University of Porto (2007), in collaboration with Queen’s University, Canada, Copenhagen University, Denmark and University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, developing innovative polymer-based nanoformulations for oral delivery of insulin. Bruno Sarmento was appointed professor in 2008, and entered i3S as Group Leader in 2012. Since 2019 is member of the Board of Directors of i3S – University of Porto. His scientific research is focused on the development of drug delivery systems, with special attention on nanotechnology, and their application to the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields. He is interested in engineering targeted nanomedicines by identifying novel biological targets, proposing new functional ligands and producing tailored nanoplatforms for the delivery of therapeutic molecules for managing cancer, infection and metabolic diseases.
He pioneered translatable nanofabrication approaches using different macro and microfluidics methodologies that allow for the encapsulation of small molecules, biomacromolecules and their functionalization with active ligand moieties to target biological receptors, considering cellular and molecular bioengineering concepts.
His research contributes with fundamental insights on nanocarriers used for drug delivery applications in order to understand their mechanism of transport at the tissue and cellular levels and on the advantages of nanosystems used for prevention, diagnostics, and therapy. In particular, he is committed to unravel the real value of “nano” for mucosal drug delivery; develop mucodiffusive, molecular bioengineered nanoparticles for the oral delivery of antidiabetic peptides; establish advanced multistage functionalized nanoparticles for diagnostic and treatment of colorectal cancer and glioblastoma; and develop nanotechnology-based platforms for prevent and treat infection diseases. He has also specialized in 3D in vitro cell-based models and organ-on-a-chip platforms, closely resembling the basic characteristics of healthy and injured tissues, with special emphasis on intestinal tissue engineering mucosa, pulmonary air-liquid interface and heterotypic multicellular tumor microtissues generated through high-throughput 3D modeling. These models allow to identify mechanisms of action for drugs and functional nanoparticles, ultimately correlate with in vivo extrapolation and validation.
His research is aimed at translating with the industry, having established several collaboration agreements with international companies and participated as an entrepreneur in the creation of spin-offs. His work has attracted funding of >25 million €, from public and private entities, and pharmaceutical and medical devices industries. Bruno Sarmento published more 500 papers (total citations of 21000; H-index 74) and was invited speaker in the most prestigious international scientific meetings. He has supervised 45 PhD students and 14 post-doctoral fellows, all of whom have shared their research at CRS annual meetings. Bruno Sarmento has enjoyed supporting CRS in various roles since he joined the Society in 2006, still as PhD student. This has included: Board member and vice-president of Spanish-Portugal CRS Local Chapter, Chair of the Nanomedicine and Nanoscale Drug Delivery Focus Group, Chair of the International Chapter Committee, CRS Board Liaison for Local Chapters, Associate Editor of Drug Delivery and Translational Research and editor of several Special Issues, Editorial Board of the Journal of Controlled Release, Vice Chair for Technical Programming of the 2021 Annual Meeting and regular attendant of Annual Meetings organized by CRS since 2006.
Treasurer, Paolo Caliceti, Ph.D.
Paolo Caliceti received his M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology in 1984 and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1989 from the University of Padova (Italy). IN 1986-987 he has been visiting scientist at the Endocrinology Division of NIH in Bethesda, in 1990 at the Enzyme Engineering Dept. - Inst. Experimental Cardiology Research Center of Academy of Sciences in Moscow, and in 1994 at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in King of Prussia (USA). In 1998, he became Assistant Professor in Applied Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Padua, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1989 and Full Professor in 2002. From 2015 to 2019, Paolo Caliceti has served as Head of the Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Department at the University of Padua. From 2008 to 2014, he was President of the CRS Italy Local Chapter and from 2009 to 2012 served as the Coordinator of CRS Local Chapters. Since 2021, he is President of the Italian Society of Drug Delivery (ADRITELF and Divisione di Tecnologia Farmaceutica – SCI). He is an active member of international drug delivery community.
Paolo Caliceti is a member of Editorial Boards of multiple pharmaceutical journals and, since 2018, he is serving as Associate Editor of the Journal of Controlled Release. He has been a member of national and international review panels for research projects, including the European Research Council and the Innovative Medicine Initiative, and as consultant with Italian and International pharmaceutical companies.
His research activity is related to the synthesis, characterization and preclinical validation of targeted drug delivery systems to improve drug bioavailability, stability, local delivery, active and passive targeting, and controlled delivery. The activities of the Caliceti ‘s research groups are mostly centered around protein PEGylation; nano- and micro-particle development by supercritical techniques; stimuli sensitive and targeted polymer bioconjugates, gold nanoparticles, micelles, liposomes and polymersomes, supramolecular assemblies for protein and oligonucleotide delivery.
Paolo Caliceti has co-authored over 180 papers and is the co-inventor of 17 patents.
Treasurer-Elect, Bastiaan deLeeuw, M.Sc.
Bastiaan J deLeeuw is presently Sr. Director and General Manager of Corbion Biomaterials in Gorinchem (The Netherlands), responsible for the manufacturing operations in The Netherlands and all commercial operations in EMEA and Asia. Corbion Biomaterials is a leading global supplier of GMP-grade bioresorbable polymers for use in medical implant devices as well as controlled release drug formulations.
Bastiaan has been active in the field of drug delivery for the last 25 years and an active member of the Controlled Release Society, including a being a member of the Finance Committee since 2015. Throughout his career he has served in a wide variety of commercial and operational roles and led projects covering dry-powder formulation development, inhaler design and development, and auto-injector design and development, as well as the associated stages of clinical and regulatory evaluations. In addition, he led the initial clinical evaluation of urologic diagnostic tests at NovioGendix (now MDxHealth) and has worked at Focus Inhalation, Akela Pharma, Oval Medical, Bespak, and Cambridge Design Partnership.
He holds a degree in biopharmaceutical sciences from Leiden University in The Netherlands where he graduate on the use of polymeric drug delivery systems for oral peptide delivery.
Director-at-Large, Maria-Teresa Peracchia, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2025)
Maria Teresa Peracchia is the Global Head of CMC Strategy & Execution in the Sanofi mRNA Center of Excellence, leading the CMC Project Leaders team and in charge of designing and aligning the End-to-End CMC strategy.
Maria-Teresa holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of Parma, Italy. During her PhD, supervised by Professor Paolo Colombo, she was a Visiting Scientist (1992-1994) in Professor Robert Langer’s lab at MIT, developing PEGylated polymeric nanoparticles. She was a post-doctoral fellow (1995-1998) with Prof. Patrick Couvreur at the University Paris-Saclay, focusing her work on the design of new PEGylated nanoparticles from polymer chemistry to in vivo biodistribution. During her PhD and postdoc, she has authored/ co-authored over 20 publications in the field of drug delivery and filed 8 patents.
Maria Teresa joined Sanofi in 1999. She held several positions of increasing responsibility in formulation development, drug delivery and CMC project management. From 2013 to 2019, she served as CMC Project Leader for Dupilumab (Dupixent®) developed in collaboration with Regeneron, where she led the CMC team through successful submission, registration and launch of Dupilumab for Atopic Dermatitis and Asthma indications. In her last role of Global Head of Drug Delivery of Biologics in the CMC Global Development organization, she established novel delivery technology capabilities at Sanofi through focused internal work and external partnerships.
In Sanofi, Maria Teresa is part of the Gender Balance Network that advocates for women, empowering them in the workplace and promoting a culture of diversity. Among her initiatives in this network, she has been leading the organization of the workshop “Increase your Impact- Develop your Personal BRAND”.
Maria Teresa has been always engaged in supporting and championing young scientists: she has mentored several Masters students, supervised many trainees, and in 2019 been successful in securing sponsorship to finance travel grants for young scientists to attend international meetings.
Maria Teresa has been on the Board of Directors of the Controlled Release Society since 2020, serving as treasurer elect and then as treasurer.
Director-at-Large, Tejal Desai, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2025)
Tejal Desai is the Deborah Cowan Endowed Professor of the Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); and Professor in Residence, Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley (UCB). She serves as director of the NIH training grant for the Joint UCSF/UCB Graduate Program in Bioengineering, and founding director of the UCSF/UCB Masters Program in Translational Medicine. She is also the Inaugural Director of the UCSF Engineering and Applied Sciences Initiative known as HIVE (Health Innovation Via Engineering).
Desai’s research spans multiple disciplines including materials engineering, cell biology, tissue engineering, and pharmacological delivery systems to develop new therapeutic interventions for disease. She seeks to design new platforms, enabled by advancements in micro and nanotechnology, to overcome existing challenges in therapeutic delivery. She has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles and patents. Her research efforts have earned recognition including Technology Review’s "Top 100 Young Innovators,” Popular Science’s Brilliant 10, and the Dawson Biotechnology Award. She is President of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and is a fellow of AIMBE, IAMBE, CRS, and BMES. In 2015, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine and in 2019 to the National Academy of Inventors.
Desai is a vocal advocate for STEM education and outreach to women and underrepresented minority students. She serves on the university’s Differences Matter Executive Committee and her work to break down institutional barriers to equity and cultivate a climate of inclusion was recognized by the AWIS Judith Poole Award and the UCSF Chancellors Award for the Advancement of Women. As president of AIMBE, she has led advocacy efforts for increased scientific funding and addressing workforce disparities in science/engineering. To foster the next generation of scientists, she has been involved in the SF Science Education partnership and has worked with outreach organizations such as the Lawrence Hall of Science, PBS, and the UN Women’s council to develop hand-on exhibits and videos related to nanotechnology and women in engineering.
She received her B.S. from Brown University in biomedical engineering in 1994 and was awarded a Ph.D. in bioengineering jointly from UCSF and UC Berkeley in 1998.
Director-at-Large, Ryan Donnelly, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2026)
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 600 peer-reviewed publications (H-index = 76), including 6 patent applications, 6 textbooks, 23 book chapters and approximately 300 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 a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Controlled Release. He has won Visit Belfast’s Ambassador Award for Life & Health Sciences (2022), the Academy of Pharmaceutical Science’s Innovative Science Award (2020), the Controlled Release Society’s Young Investigator Award (2016), BBSRC Innovator of the Year (2013), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Pharmaceutical Research Meritorious Manuscript Award (2013 & 2022), the GSK Emerging Scientist Award (2012) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Science Award (2011).
Director-at-Large, Yoon Yeo, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2026)
Prof. Yoon Yeo is a Professor and Associate Department Head of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy at Purdue University. She built expertise in pharmaceutical sciences and drug delivery through Ph.D. training in protein microencapsulation at Purdue University (2003) and post-doc training in hydrogel-based biomaterials at MIT (2004-2006). As a faculty member at Purdue, Prof. Yeo leads a research program specializing in immunomodulatory formulations for cancer immunotherapy and anti-inflammatory applications, intracellular delivery of gene therapeutics and peptide antibiotics, new methods of delivering anticancer drugs, and long-acting drug delivery systems, with the support of the NIH, NSF, and industry. She authored 120 peer-reviewed papers and 11 book chapters, which have received >10000 citations. She received the NSF CAREER award (2011) as well as the New Investigator Awards from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS, 2009) and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (2008). Prof. Yeo is a Fellow of the AAPS (since 2019) and the Controlled Release Society (since 2022). She was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Controlled Release (2019-2022). From 2023, she serves as a Deputy Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Controlled Release.
Director-at-Large, Laura Ensign, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2027)
Laura Ensign, PhD, is the Marcella E. Woll Professor of Ophthalmology with secondary appointments in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Infectious Diseases, Gynecology & Obstetrics, and Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. Her research is focused on the principle of characterizing biological barriers in health and disease in order to design more efficacious formulations for prophylactic and therapeutic drug delivery. Her laboratory is a diverse group of scientists with expertise in biomaterials, chemistry, engineering, pharmacology, molecular biology, and computer science. Mentees from Laura’s group have pursued careers in various sectors, including the pharmaceutical industry, academia, venture, regulatory, and science policy and communication. Laura is a co-inventor of several drug delivery technologies, some of which that have led to FDA approved products or are in various stages of clinical trials. Laura has been actively involved in CRS for many years, most recently as the Chair of the Annual Meeting Planning Committee (AMPC) for the CRS 2023 Annual meeting. Laura is also the recent recipient of the Rising Women in Science Award, and a member of the College of Fellows. Laura is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Controlled Release and Drug Delivery and Translational Research.
