President, 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.
President-Elect, Yoon Yeo, Ph.D.
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.
Immediate Past-President, 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.
Secretary, Ryan Donnelly, Ph.D.
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).
Treasurer, Vincent Jannin, Ph.D.
Dr. HDR Vincent Jannin is the Director of R&D and Head of InnovaformTM Accelerator at Lonza Capsules & Health Ingredients. He founded this state-of-the-art lab, building a multidisciplinary team to drive co-innovation with customers. Dr. Jannin develops strategic plans to accelerate business growth, team development, and product commercialization. His work includes advanced characterization and formulation innovations, highlighted by the award-winning Capsugel® Enprotect® capsule.
Previously, Dr. Jannin spent 20 years at Gattefossé, concluding as Research Director -Pharmaceuticals, and lectured in formulation sciences at Lyon University for 16 years. He holds a Pharm.D. (1999) and Ph.D. (2004) in pharmaceutical technologies from the University of Bourgogne, and an HDR (2010) from the University of Lyon, a prestigious qualification recognizing his expertise in advanced drug delivery systems.
A thought leader in oral lipid-based formulation and capsule innovation, Dr. Jannin has a distinguished publication record, including 73 peer-reviewed journal articles (h-index=39), 6 patent families, 5 book chapters, 84 meeting abstracts, and 72 lectures on Drug Delivery Systems.
With over two decades of experience, Dr. Jannin bridges scientific rigor and strategic vision to
advance pharmaceutical innovation in the field of oral drug delivery.
Treasurer-Elect, Luis Brito, Ph.D.
Luis is currently VP of the Delivery Platform at Beam Therapeutics. He currently leads a team that is responsible for early research and development of delivery systems to enable base editing. Prior to Beam he was at Moderna Therapeutics for 6 years where he led discovery efforts around novel delivery systems and routes of administration for vaccines and therapeutics. His team was instrumental in selecting, optimizing and characterizing the lead LNP for the Moderna’s COVID vaccine. Before Moderna he was at Novartis Vaccines where he developed delivery systems for RNA vaccines and adjuvants. He was also involved in leading work on Novartis’s SAM/LNP formulation. Luis received his master’s and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Northeastern University and received his BS in Human Physiology from Boston University. Luis co-authored over 30 peer reviewed papers and is co-inventor on 20 patents.
Director-at-Large, Hélder Santos, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2029)
Prof. Santos (D.Sc. Tech., Chem. Eng.) is a Full Professor and Chair in Biomedical Engineering, and the Head of the Department of Biomaterials and Biomedical Technology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen. He was also a former Full Professor and Head of Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Pharmacy. Prof. Santos is also the co-founder of the startups Capsamedix Oy and Medixmicro Oy, and was the Coordinator of a large MSCA-ITN P4 FIT network in tendon repair (~ 4.1 m€). He holds an Honorary Adjunct Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, and held previously Visiting Professorships at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and University of Tartu. Prof. Santos research interests include the development of nanoparticles/nanomedicines and biomaterials for biomedical applications, particularly cancer and heart diseases. Currently, he (co)-supervises +30 PhD students and 5 MSCA-postdoctoral fellowships. His lab makes the unique bridge between medical engineering, pharmaceutical nanotechnology, and tissue engineering by combining unique techniques to develop novel therapeutic formulations for translation into the clinic. He is co-author of more than +650 publications (+33000 citations; h-index = 104) and 8 patents. He has +300 invited talks around the world. He has (co-)supervised +50 PhD students and +40 postdocs. His former lab members +10 are know well established professors around the world. He is also in Editorial board member of Advanced Healthcare Materials, Advanced Therapeutics, Journal of Controlled Release, VIEW, Journal of Functional Materials, Precision Nanomedicine, Biomedical Technology, Smart Medicine, among many others. He is Associate Editor of Nano Select, and Drug Delivery and Translational Research, among others. Prof. Santos has received prestigious honours, awards and grants, such as the "Talent Prize in Science" in 2010 attributed by the Portuguese Government, the European Research Council Starting Grant in 2013, the European Research Council Proof-of-Concept Grant in 2018, the Young Researcher Award in 2013 attributed by the University of Helsinki, the Academy of Finland Award for Social Impact in 2016, and the Controlled Release Society Young Investigator Award 2021. Altogether, Prof. Santos has secured since 2009 +35 research grants nationally and internationally worth of +20 M€.
Director-at-Large, Juliane Nguyen, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2029)
Dr. Juliane Nguyen is Professor and Vice Chair in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, where she also serves as Director of Graduate Admissions. She leads an interdisciplinary lab focused on personalized biotherapeutics and living drug carriers for cancer, myocardial infarction, colitis, and other diseases by integrating molecular engineering and pharmaceutical sciences. Her work has appeared in Nature Communications, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Reviews Bioengineering, Advanced Functional Materials, JCR and ADDR. She has overseen over $21M in research funding.
Dr. Nguyen has received numerous honors, including the NSF CAREER Award, the BMES CMBE Young Innovator Award, the AAPS Emerging Leader Award, and the Galenus Guest Professorship at ETH Zurich. She is a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.
She has advised over 90 trainees who now hold leading positions in academia, industry, and government. She served on the NIH DBTD study section and is Executive Editor of ADDR, and an Editorial Board member of JCR. Within CRS, she has contributed through roles in focus groups, serving as Director of Poster Judging, the AMPC, and awards committees.
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.
Director-at-Large, Marianne Ashford, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2028)
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.
Marianne has been a long-time supporter of the CRS taking leadership roles in the UK&I Chapter, being member (& former leader) of the Industry Foresight Council, leading and organizing sessions at several CRS meetings and on the Annual Programme Committee for the Montreal meeting.
Director-at-Large, Stephanie Barrett, Ph.D. (3-year term through 2028)
Stephanie E. Barrett, PhD., is a Distinguished Scientist at Merck & Co., Inc. and is one of Merck’s leading experts in polymer and bioconjugate chemistry for enabled delivery of small molecule and macromolecular drugs, having made influential contributions to the discovery of novel polymer conjugates for siRNA therapeutics, polymer excipients for oral dosage forms, and polymer-based long-acting injectables and implantables. She is currently leading the team responsible for advanced drug delivery across the sterile portfolio of products, including both small molecule and biologics. For her technical and leadership achievements, Stephanie was recognized by Business Insider as one of the top 30 under 40 biopharma leaders shaping the future of medicine.
