My research is in the delivery of drugs, delivery of vaccines, pharmacy and pharmacy education, as detailed below.

Drug delivery for the treatment of fungal infections, for example of the nail.  Formulations such as lacquers, patches, gels and vesicles have been developed for the topical treatment of nail fungal infections. Anti-fungal activity of new drug molecules and of drug combinations (within and without drug carriers) are being measured in an attempt to identify more effective treatments.  Properties of diseased nails have been investigated to understand drug-nail interactions. In vitro-in vivo correlations regarding drug residence at the site of action have been established.

Drug delivery for the treatment of cutaneous leishmania infections.  Research include formulation of topical anti-leishmania formulations, characterisation of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics following drug administration, characterisation of the diseased skin and development of an in vitro 3-D with flow cell culture model of the disease.

Oral drug delivery.  Formulations are developed to target drug absorption at specific sites in the digestive tract. The influence of an individual’s sex and of the formulation on the extent of oral drug absorption is under investigation.

Vaccine delivery.   Vaccine formulations are developed so that the vaccine is processed by the immune system in the colon.  Such colonic vaccination is intended to increase immune responses in the colon and in the vagina, to protect against colonic diseases such as Clostridium difficile infections and sexually- and vertically- transmitted diseases.  In particular, work is underway to examine colonic vaccination against group B streptococcus for maternal immunisation to protect the baby.

The influence of culture on perception of routes of drug administration such as oral, rectal, by injection. I am leading this study, which is being conducted via a questionnaire in 22 countries. 

Pharmacy and development education; Global citizenship. I led a project at the School, on the integration of global and development issues into undergraduate curricula in pharmacy and developed learning activities and outcomes to nudge our MPharm undergraduates into becoming Global Pharmacists (see document on the right) and Global Citizens. For the past 3 years, I had co-led the ‘Outbreak’ strand of the UCL Global Citizenship Summer School, where UCL undergraduates (from any degree program) learn about Global Citizenship in the context of disease outbreaks.