Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (MSc by Research)

The incidence of cancer is rising, and according to Cancer Research UK 1 in 2 of us will develop cancer in our lifetime. The current treatment strategy which includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation does not work for every patient and can induce many adverse effects compromising patients’ quality of life. Therefore, better treatment options are needed. The development of new medications is costly and takes few years for a specific medication to become available for the patients. Repurposing medications in cancer therapy can speed up the progress of drug development, as all the toxicological investigations have already been completed, hence the medication is in current use for different indications. Our recent research has shown that some old medications may have additional application in cancer treatment. For example, we have shown that fluoxetine is an anti-depressant drug with additional anti-tumour activity for example in colon cancer. Therefore, the aim of the project is to investigate the potential of fluoxetine as an anti-cancer drug in pre-clinical cancer models.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £7-£10,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more

• Dr Farideh Javid

Despite the implication of chronic inflammation in the pathogenesis of many conditions, there are still no safe and effective pharmacological interventions for preventing or treating this phenomenon. This research is aimed at identifying natural products and food bioactives that reduce or inhibit inflammatory processes by targeting inflammatory signalling pathways. The research will also elucidate the molecular mechanisms of anti-inflammatory activity of natural products.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £5000-£8000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more

• Dr Olumayokun Olajide

We are looking to identifying biomarkers to help diagnose and predict Multiple Sclerosis and related disorders. These includes breath and blood analysis to pinpoint indicators of how the disease progresses.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of £5000 are required for this project

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

• Dr Patrick Mchugh

Natural materials are increasingly being used as alternatives to synthetic pharmaceutical excipients in various drug delivery systems due to their biocompatibility, low cost, and relative abundance. This research project will explore the extraction and characterization of selected natural products and their assessment for potential pharmaceutical applications.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

• Dr Adeola Adebisi

Magnesium aluminum silicate is a sheet-type clay mineral and a saponite in the smectite group. Smectites have a basic three-layered structure (tetrahedral– octahedral–tetrahedral layers) in which an octahedral layer with an Mg atom in the centre and six apical oxygen atoms are present between regular tetrahedral layers with an Si atom in the centre and four apical oxygen atoms. Clays have many different applications as reviewed in literature. The objectives of this study is to fully understand and determine pharmaceutically relevant properties of clays with regards to its suitability in solid dosage forms using compression analysis, small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), isothermal calorimetry (ITC) and x-ray microtomography (XµT)

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

• Dr Kofi Asare-addo

Chronic diseases, also known as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), affect people for a long duration and result from a combination of factors (e.g., genetic, physiological, environmental). These chronic conditions result in about 41 million deaths yearly, equivalent to 74% of all deaths globally. NCDs also cause a significant burden on patients experiencing them and the healthcare systems. The primary aim of this project is to improve the quality use of medicines associated with the management of patients with chronic diseases such as CVD and diabetes mellitus. The objectives are to extract de-identified clinical/ dispensing/ safety data for pharmacoepidemiologic studies from a sample of patients in different regions of England and determine the patterns of medicines prescribed to treat chronic conditions.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more

• Dr Syed Hasan

We are looking to repurpose known drugs for the use in inflammatory conditions, including neuropathic pain. Repurposing allows for a more rapid drug development, as previously approved drugs will not require the stringency of clinical trials.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of £5000 are required for this project

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

• Dr Patrick Mchugh

UV imaging has been used as a platform for observing the behaviour of pharmaceutical compounds. The surface dissolution imaging instrument (SDI) has been used in determining the intrinsic dissolution rates (IDR) of compounds due to its compound sparing approach and has been used to observe phenomena such as the swelling behaviour of hydrophilic matrices, capsule dissolution and drug precipitation. We have also developed a Franz cell prototype (patented) at allows imaging through biological and synthetic skin membranes. This project aims to utilise this imaging platform in providing further insights into the behaviour of pharmaceuticals with the prospect of speeding up the preformulation stage thereby reducing costs

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

• Dr Kofi Asare-addo

Conventional nail formulations are not fully effective due to limited drug permeation across the compact keratinized structure of the nail plate. Drug permeation through the nail plate is important for treating nail diseases and infections. Therefore, there is currently a need for more effective formulations in the treatment of nail diseases. This project will explore the use of novel combination of approaches in the design of ungunal and transungunal formulations in order to enhance to drug delivery to the nail.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £3-£15,000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Home/EU – for September- June 30th, for January-October 31st and Overseas for September- May 31st, for January- September 30th

• Dr Adeola Adebisi

Currently food waste and by-products generated, are not fully exploited and their disposal is presenting a continuously growing problem. Common by-products from food are peels, hulls, shells, husks, pods, stems, stalks, bran, seeds, and pulp refuse. Our investigations have shown that by-products from fruits such as pomegranates and oranges have significant pharmacological and health-promoting potentials. This project will use a combination of cellular and molecular pharmacology approaches to evaluate anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-ageing activities of bioactive compounds from these waste products. Molecular targets of these activities will also be established.

Self-funding applicants are welcome. In addition to tuition fees, bench fees of between £5000-£8000 per annum are required depending on the nature of the project.

Our standard University deadlines apply. Please see our Deadlines for Applications page to find out more

• Dr Olumayokun Olajide