Hydrogels in Drug Delivery. Advances in the Manufacture, Characterization, and Application of Hydrogels to Address Current Global Healthcare Challenges

Authors

Alejandro J. Paredes School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dr Alejandro Paredes is a pharmacist by training, graduated from the National University of C�rdoba, Argentina (2011), where he also obtained his PhD (2016) and taught pharmaceutical sciences for 7 years. As a postdoctoral researcher, he visited the University of the Basque Country (Spain), the University of Pavia (Italy), and worked at Queen's University Belfast (UK). Dr Paredes is currently a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Queen's University, where he teaches pharmaceutical technology and leads a research group that focuses on the development of precisely engineered nanocrystals and microneedles for tissue targeting. Dr Paredes has authored 49 scientific publications, including 44 papers, 3 patents and 3 book chapters (h-index 18, 798 citations). Dr Paredes has presented his work in multiple international conferences and is a member of several scientific societies and the editorial board of two internationally recognised journals. Eneko Larra�eta School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dr Eneko Larra�eta is a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy Queen's University Belfast. He worked in different multidisciplinary first-class laboratories developing drug delivery systems. His research area falls within the interface of pharmaceutics, chemistry, engineering and biomedical sciences. During his independent career, he developed research projects for industrial partners (L'Oreal) and research councils (Wellcome Trust, Royal Society, PATH among others). To date, he has published more than 40 peer-reviewed papers in leading international journals, as well as 4 book chapters, 1 invited presentation and 11 conference abstracts, describing a range of advanced drug delivery systems, including nanoparticles and microneedles. Garry Laverty School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dr Garry Laverty is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy Queen's University Belfast. His Biofunctional Nanomaterials group develop self-assembling hydrogel platforms for biomedical applications based on the building blocks of life, namely peptide and their unnatural variants (peptide-mimetics). These have huge potential within the fields of drug delivery and biomaterials with the group's focus primarily on the development of sustained release systems (in situ forming injectable implants) and antimicrobial applications (coatings, wound healing gels). Garry's work is funded by >�1.34 million of competitive research funding from sources including: the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust, the Royal Society, Innovate UK, Invest NI, alongside successful applications to Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL, Grenoble) and UKRI Science Technology Facilities Council ISIS Neutron and Muon Source for neutron scattering beam time. He has authored 46 publications relating to peptides and drug delivery. Ryan F. Donnelly School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, Belfast , Northern Ireland. Professor Ryan Donnelly holds the Chair in Pharmaceutical Technology. His research is centred on design and physicochemical characterisation of advanced polymeric drug delivery systems for transdermal and topical drug delivery, with a strong emphasis on improving therapeutic outcomes for patients. His bioadhesive patch design was used successfully in the clinic and has now been licensed to Swedish Pharma AB, for whom he acts as a Scientific Advisor. He is currently developing a range of novel microneedle technologies through independent research, but also in collaboration with the world's leading transdermal patch manufacturer and several major pharma partners. Still at a relatively early stage of his career, he has obtained substantial RCUK, charity and industrial funding and authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, including 4 patent applications, 4 textbooks, 19 book chapters and approximately 130 full papers. He has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences.