Pharmaceutical Engineering Sciences

Professor Anant Paradkar holds an Interdisciplinary Chair in Pharmaceutical Engineering Science and is Director of the Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science. He completed his PhD in Pharmaceutics and joined Bradford following a 20 year academic career in India. He has worked on various interdisciplinary collaborative research projects in the areas of process development and crystal and particle engineering, developing techniques such as crystallo-co-agglomeration, melt granulation, sono-crystallisation, spray drying of low Tg materials and liquid crystal precursors. He is currently working on the application of hot melt extrusion and sono-crystallisation to generate co-crystals and has been awarded a EPSRC funding and Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship to strengthen exploitation and impact of this work.

In India, he received research funding from the All India Council for Technical Education, University Grants Commission, Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Defence. He has received an India-JSPS International Joint project on liquid crystalline systems, UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) Fellowship and a Royal Society UK-India Science Network award He has supervised 10 PhD and 45 MPharm candidates and published over 90 research papers. Currently, he is supervising/ co-supervising  15 PhD students in various areas of research.

Awards and Recognition: 

• 2010: Business Innovation Award, University of Bradford                                           
• 2010: Finalist, Yorkshire Forward Innovator10 Award                                                 
• 2009: Yorkshire Enterprise Fellowship                                                                           
• 2009: Research and Knowledge Transfer Showcase Award for interdisciplinary research presentation
• 2007: UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) Fellowship                     
• 2006: Bharati Vidyapeeth Best Employee of the University

• 2005: Indo-UK Science Network Scheme   (Royal Society and DST, India)                   
• 2005: India-JSPS funded India-Japan Cooperation Programme (IJCP)                     
• 2005: Young Pharmacy Teacher Award by Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI)

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Jason has a PhD in Chemistry from University of York and 20 years’ experience in R&D and business development in the pharmaceutical and chemical research services sector. Jason has extensive experience in business development and business management and is currently responsible for growing the commercial and grant funded revenues of a number of Research and Knowledge Transfer Centres across the Faculty including Pharmaceutical Engineering Sciences, Institute of Cancer Therapeutics and Centre for Chemical and Structural Analysis. Director and Business Manager for Lena Nanoceutics Ltd a University spin-in company

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Adrian Kelly is a lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics and Manager of Extrusion research activities in the Polymer IRC research group at Bradford.  Adrian has a first degree in mechanical engineering and received a PhD for his research developing in-process rheological measurement techniques for polymer extrusion. He has a strong background in polymer processing (particularly extrusion and injection moulding) and process monitoring, having recently managed a large DTI funded project (CHBJ/005/00110C) to encourage the use of process metrology in the UK polymer industry.  He has an interest in thermal optimisation of polymer processing and currently holds an EPSRC grant to optimise thermal management in polymer extrusion (EP/G059330/1) in collaboration with Queens University, Belfast.

Pharmaceutical polymer engineering is one the main focuses of Adrian's current research activities, particularly twin screw extrusion of pharmaceutical formulations (solid dispersions and solutions) and the application of process monitoring techniques (PAT).  Working closely with colleagues with Pharmaceutics expertise, he is developing novel polymer-drug formulations, novel processes and novel extruded and moulded product forms.  He is also applying his knowledge of polymer melt rheology and material characterisation to pharmaceutical polymer processing. Adrian has developed a novel continuous process to manufacture co-crystals in collaboration with Professor Anant Paradkar; this has been funded through a Yorkshire Forward Proof of Concept award and is the subject of a patent application (GB0813709.3).

Adrian has experience of processing a wide variety of polymeric materials, including materials formulation research with composites, nanocomposites and additives. In addition to conventional commodity and engineering polymers, he has expertise in recycled polymers, bio-based polymers and biodegradable polymer systems.  Adrian has worked closely with a large number of companies across the polymer, additive, machinery and instrumentation sectors.

He has received research funding from EPSRC, DTI, TSB, Yorkshire Forward, METRC and WRAP, in addition to a significant amount of contract research funding from industry collaborators.  He has received 3 SPARK proof-of-concept awards, one of which was awarded a Yorkshire Forward Innovation prize. Adrian has published over 20 journal and 70 conference papers, in polymer engineering and science related fields.  He has co-authored 5 ISBN published books and reports.

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After graduating with a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Surrey in 1991 I was employed on a research grant in aerodynamics. This led to the award of a PhD (part time) on the development of turbulent boundary layers and wakes in 1996. Following this I moved to the University of Bradford as a postdoctoral research engineer looking into the use of hydrocyclones for separations of yeast from beer and cider under the tutelage of Professor Martin Thew. After some time in industry as a contracting engineer developing cyclones for the offshore oil industry I returned to Bradford to join the IRC in Polymer Engineering where I was employed on the interdisciplinary and multi-university EPSRC grants ‘Microscale Polymer Processing’ and ‘Enhanced Polymer Processing’. Following these grants I have been working on the four year, £5.5 million pound program, Microscale Polymer Processing: Toolbox Development and Application (MuPP2), with the Universities of Leeds, Cambridge, Durham, Oxford and Sheffield. The broad aims are to follow well-characterised, tailored, polymeric materials from synthesis, through processing and into manufacture, using a range of analytical techniques including stress birefringence, particle tracking velocimetry, small angle neutron scattering, and small and wide angle x-ray scattering. See www.mupp2.com for more details.

Further research interests are in the fields of reactive extrusion (one patent filed), rheology and applications of computer-based instrumentation to a broad range of scientific problems.

I was appointed as a lecturer in 2006 and senior lecturer in 2011, am co-ordinator for rheo-optical and spectroscopic studies and sit on the Operations Committee of the broader IRC (see www.polymerirc.org).

Awards and Recognition:
Baroness Lockwood Award for Distinguished Teaching (BLADT) - University of Bradford 2010

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Dr Khaled H Assi was awarded the PhD in pharmaceutical analysis by the University of Bradford, in 1999. He then took up a postdoctoral post at university of Bradford between 1999-2001 working on the inhaled therapies. His postdoctoral program was extended for one more year through an awarded grant from Glaxo SmithKline. In 2002, he was accepted a research fellowship at Bradford School of Pharmacy. Dr Assi was appointed as a Lecturer at the Bradford School of Pharmacy and then promoted to senior lecturer , in March 2016 and has continued developing his research in the inhaled therapies area. In this position he is teaching the MPharm students at different levels and he is also leading the MSc Pharmaceutical Technology and Medicines Control programme. The modules he delivers cover the area of respiratory drug delivery, pharmaceutical analysis, Quality assurance and quality control of pharmaceuticals. He is also active in the research. His principal research interests lie in the field of drug delivery to the lung, this encompass formulation development for inhalation products. The work involves the development of new formulations for inhaled products including dry powder, nanosuspension  and nanoemaulsion for both dry powder inhalers and nebulisers. It also involves selecting a suitable inhalation device for doses of dry powder inhalers and nebulised solutions based on the targeted peripheral lung areas for both locally and systemically acting pharmaceuticals. He also has research interest in the following: o   Determination of the in-vitro characteristics of inhaled products and assessing the in-vitro quality of the dose emitted from inhalation systems (dry powder inhalers [DPIs], metered dose inhalers [MDIs] and nebulisers) and in the determination of the resistance characteristics and comparative product features of various marketed DPIs to identify the optimum inhalation flow rate and appropriate DPI for different patients.   In addition to the inhaled therapy I have research in the development of pharmaceutical and bioanalytical assay methods. This includes the optimisation and validation of bioanalytical techniques for qualitative and quantitative determination of inhaled drugs and its metabolites in aqueous and biological fluids for bioequivalence and pharmacokinetic studies.

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Krzysztof J. Paluch joined University of Bradford as a Lecturer in Medicines Development and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

He holds an MSc in Pharmacy from Jagiellonian University Krakòw (2005) and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Trinity College, University of Dublin (2011). He is a Project Management Associate (Irish Institute Project Management Ireland, 2012).

His research interests focus on: screening and characterization of novel salts and co-crystals, characterization of amorphous forms, nanoparticles and spray dried microparticles.

His collaborations include projects with: Trinity College Dublin, University of Silesia, University of Gdansk and others.

To date, his research was funded by: Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology and Science Foundation Ireland.

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Biography

2020- now: Senior Lecturer in Medicine Development and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bradford, UK

2010-2020: Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, University of Bradford, UK

2007-2011: Post-graduate research student, School of Pharmacy, University of Bradford, UK

2006-2007: Part Time Lab Supervisor, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

2005-2006: Lecturer assistant, University of Aleppo, Syria

2005-2006: Pharmacist at Asia Pharmaceuticals (Sterile manufacturing), Aleppo Syria

2004-2005: Community pharmacist, Latakia, Syria

1999-2004: Undergraduate student, Faculty of Pharmacy and medical science, University of Petra, Amman, Jordan

Venu Vangala joined as Lecturer in Medicines Development and Pharmaceutical Sciences. His research work focuses on building strong capability in interdisciplinary areas of fundamental and applied solid-state pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical technology. Currently, he is involved in industrial collaborative projects with Advanced Extrusion Technology and N4 Pharma Ltd., UK.

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Dr. Arathyram Ramachandra Kurup Sasikala is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences. Her vision is to develop next generation nanotherapeutics for human diseases with unmet clinical needs through non-invasive approaches. She is an interdisciplinary biomaterial scientist who completed her master’s degree in Physics and continued her journey toward nanomedicine research and worked on the interface between materials science and biology. After receiving her doctorate from the Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) South Korea, she was quickly recognised for her work with a three-year Young Investigator Award from the National Research Foundation of Korea. Meanwhile, she's taken a position as an Assistant Research Professor at the JBNU. Her role as an independent PI gave her the opportunity to serve as Primary Supervisor for two master's theses and as Co-supervisor for one doctoral thesis. To further develop her career as an independent research leader in next-generation biomaterials, she moved to the University of Birmingham as a Marie Curie Fellow, where she investigated a new strategy for the non-invasive modulation of the Blood Brain Barrier to overcome the unmet need for delivering drugs to the brain. Arathyram is passionate about communicating her research to the public and patients through PPI meetings and various outreach activities like European Researchers Night, Nottingham Soapbox Science, Pint of Science etc. She is the Outreach, Collaborations, and Dissemination Lead of the Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science.

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Dr. Rahamatullah Shaikh is a Pharmacist and Assistant Professor in Industrial Pharmaceutics in the Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science at the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of Bradford. Dr. Rahamat has diverse international research experience in academia and pharmaceutical industry including drug formulation development, optimization, delivery, continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing, particle engineering, powder characterisation, process analytical technologies and pharmaceutical analysis. He obtained his PhD in 2020, under the supervision of Prof. Gavin Walker at Synthesis and Solid-State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC), University of Limerick, Ireland with a Thesis entitled "Continuous mechanochemical preparation and formulation of pharmaceutical cocrystals and it’s solid processing”. He subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Limerick investigating continuous processing of pharmaceutical cocrystal drug products as part of the SFI funded SSPC. During his MPhil at the School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast, UK, he formulated novel bucco-adhesive buccal patches intended for clinical application for mouth ulcers, in an industry-sponsored project. His developed formulation has been patented.

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Shahzeb Khan is currently working as a Lecturer in Biopharmaceutical Formulation and Processing  in the Centre for Pharmaceutical Engineering Science (CPES) at the Faculty of Life Science, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences.  Shahzeb Khan earned his first degree in Pharmacy (B.Pharmacy) with distinction from Faculty of Pharmacy, Gomal University DI Khan, Pakistan followed by M.Phil leading to  PhD in Molecular Pharmaceutics from the School of Pharmacy University of Bradford in 2012. Dr Khan has 15 years of teaching and research experience in different universities of the world including UK, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Africa, Republic of Ireland and United States. In addition, He has also worked for two years in the Sanofi Aventis as a Production Pharmacist. Dr Khan is the recipient of several prestigious postdoctoral fellowships which include Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship, TWAS-NRF, CAS, Marie curie co-fund (PROCESS). He has worked for one year as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow in the College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin USA. He has also worked as a Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at the Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM Malaysia. He  was also the in-charge of production department of GMP certified Cosmetics unit within the faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM.  During his postdoc at SSPC, University of Limerick Ireland which was funded by SFI, he worked on the development of supercritical Co2 Fluid technology for isolation of drug nanoparticles using the carrier particles.   In 2016, Dr Khan was appointed as an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Health Sciences, University of Kawa Zulu Natal, Durban South Africa which has recently been renewed up to 2025. Dr Khan has successfully supervised 10 PhD and a number of M.Phil, MS and PharmD dissertations. He has published > 100 research and review articles within the Q1 Journals including  Crystals Growth& Design, Nanomedicine, JCR, Polymers, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Pharmaceutics, Colloids and Surfaces B, Cancers, Chemical Engineering  and Angewandte Chemie International. One of the key articles on secondary crystal nucleation published in Angewandte Chemie International with VIP tag which got a tremendous attraction and published by the University of Cambridge in its monthly research News Letter.  Additionally, this work has also been published as a breakthrough by the well known publishers including ScienceDaily, Physics.Org, Europe PMC and Lancaster University.

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