CRS 2025 Annual Meeting in Review
This year’s annual meeting in Philadelphia was a whirlwind, bringing over 1300 attendees from all over the world to share the latest in delivery science. On the final day of the conference, I asked attendees to share their thoughts on the week:
Fun for first-timers
“This was my first time at CRS and in the US. I came here because of the oral delivery focus group because I study oral delivery of biomolecules and liposomal formulations. The talks I attended had really deep, state-of-the-art science. Now I need to come to this event every year!” Alana Gouveia, PhD Student, Heidelberg University funded by Millipore Sigma
“This conference was amazing, I attended for the first time and loved it! It was great for networking and collaboration, especially around cardiovascular drug delivery.” Tanveer Tabish, Principal Investigator at University of Oxford
“This was my first conference seeing a lot of nanoparticle work and I learned a lot on the formulation development side. I had a lot of fun!” Diego Almodiel, PhD Student, Johns Hopkins University
“I come from a pharmaceutical and neuroscience background, so this conference was very nanoparticle- and industry-heavy. This is the place to come for translational science!” Preeti Vyas, Postdoc, Johns Hopkins University
Stellar plenary lectures
“I enjoyed Bob Langer’s session the most. He gave a very interesting talk about his work throughout his lifetime. He has worked with lipid nanoparticles in a thoughtful way and always emphasized the translational impact and its benefit to humans.” Junia Akhtar, PhD Scholar, NIPER, SAS Nagar, India
“My favorite session, by far, was the plenary by Drew Weissman for one reason: the science. His presentation was very detailed; he provided the overall idea but also the details about the problems and issues his group has been addressing, and the science behind the results.” Paolo Decuzzi, Senior Scientist and Professor, Italian Institute of Technology
“It was so impactful for me to see Drew Weissman because I never see someone like him at my university. It was a big pleasure to have the opportunity to hear about his work.” Lucas Vinicius, Undergraduate student, Federal University of Goias
Excellent technical sessions
“All the technical sessions were really good! I enjoyed the sessions on oral delivery and peptides.” Rudra Pangeni, Research Faculty, Virginia Commonwealth University
“I liked the women’s health sessions. Having the talks in one room is very important and makes it easier to see who’s working on what and to connect with them.” Spela Zupancic, Associate Professor, University of Ljubljana
“Skin delivery III was excellent. All the speakers were great!” Alejandro Paredes, Senior Lecturer, Queen’s University Belfast
“I enjoyed Immuno Delivery IV and the Nanomedicine and Nanoscale Delivery sessions, and the posters were really good too. We are interested in lipid nanoparticles and vaccines. Lots of new thoughts and new science were presented.” Hakam Alaqabani, PhD Student, University of Strathclyde
“The gene delivery and gene editing talks were excellent and very relevant to my work.” Maria Evdokimou, PhD Student, University of Strathclyde
“The technical workshops on Monday were very well attended and did a great job integrating lots of speakers from industry and academia. It was a valuable experience for me and my students.” Qingguo Xu, Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
Strong programming from the Young Scientists Committee
“My favorite part is always the YSC events. We had a great lineup of events as always and the rooms were full for our activities spanning a lot of topics. It’s a great environment for young scientists to ask questions. The YSC Meet Up Station was again a success: it was a meeting point for all of us to gather after the sessions, discuss science and interact with each other, and build friendships for life.” Claudia Martins, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Porto
“The YSC Industry Panel was very nice and provided lots of insights. There was lots of time for discussion and I wish there was even more time!” Melissa Hendren, Faculty, University of Helsinki
“This was the first year YSC had a session on Intellectual Property and individualized mentoring. The chats with the luminaries event was a big success as well as chats with industry. We also had several young scientists present at the DDTR special session, which was very impressive.” Hagar Labouta, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Great vibes
“I loved the poster session, it was very interactive this year and gave lots of space for people to stand around and talk. The food was very good this year!” Shonya Lingesh, PhD Student, A*STAR, Singapore
“The way the software handled talks was the best we’ve ever seen. From uploading to switching presentations, it was very impressive.” Al Voelklein, Exhibitor
“There’s a different vibe this year, a lot more enthusiasm and positive vibes. The talks are better, everyone is doing something they’re excited about, and all the organizing committees have a swag.” Amarali Popat, Professor, University of Queensland
“The party at Franklin Institute was fantastic! I also enjoyed the technical sessions on gene delivery, the YSC events, and networking.” Sara Nogueira, Principal Scientist, MilliporeSigma
Andrea Joseph is an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University. All photos are from the Controlled Release Society albums available online: https://www.facebook.com/ControlledReleaseSociety/photos_albums
