The Faculty of Pharmacy confers ten new doctors

On Friday 29 May, the doors to Uppsala University's Grand Auditorium and the solemn Spring Conferment Ceremony will open, an academic tradition celebrating its 426th anniversary. Our Faculty of Pharmacy will confer ten new doctoral graduates that will receive their hat and diploma from degree conferrer Maria Kjellsson, Professor of Pharmacokinetics.

Patrik Bjärterot defended his thesis Development and Application of Computational Methods in Mass Spectrometry Imaging in March 2026. In his work, conducted at the Imaging Mass Spectrometry research environment at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Patrik introduces new high-throughput computational methods for automated metabolite annotation in tissue sections, demonstrates the compatibility of MALDI-MSI with SRT, and highlights the versatility of MSI for analyzing sample-limited clinical biofluids.

Ellen Brunzell defended her thesis Self-Assembly of Therapeutic Peptides in February 2026. In her work, conducted at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry within the framework of SweDeliver, Ellen presents new knowledge on peptide aggregation and the mechanisms governing these processes. Ellen currently works as Senior Formulation Scientist at Disruptive Pharma.

Henrik Cam defended his thesis From Exploration to Intervention – Enhancing Medication Communication at Hospital Discharge in May 2025. In his doctoral project, conducted at the Department of Pharmacy, Henrik introduces a new intervention that involves both care teams, elderly patients, informal caregivers and research in order to improve communication, safety and adherence during drug treatment. Henrik currently works as a researcher at Uppsala University and as a clinical pharmacist at the Uppsala University Hospital.

Merve Ceylan defended her thesis In vitro Models of the Human Intestine for Better Prediction of Drug Absorption, Pre-systemic Metabolism, and Bioavailability in April 2025 at the Department of Pharmacy. In her work, Merve presents findings that increase our understanding of intestinal in vitro models and support their application in drug development.

Esther Olaniran Håkansson defended her thesis Novel Synthetic Strategies for the Development of Peptides and Peptidomimetics in Alzheimer’s Disease and Prostate Cancer in September 2025. In her doctoral project, conducted at the Department of Pharmacy, Esther demonstrates that modified peptides offer potential tools for earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Ida Laurén defended her thesis Next Generation CD40-Targeting Immunotherapy: Development of Antibody-Based Personalized Cancer Treatment in May 2025. In her thesis, she presents a technology that enables tailored T-cell armies for cancer treatment. Ida currently works as Immunology Scientist at Novavax.

Alina Meyer defended her thesis Insights into Polycystic Kidney Disease – In vitro Models, Proteome Analyses, and Drug Repurposing in September 2025. In her work, conducted as a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher at the Department of Pharmacy, Alina contributes new knowledge to the search for treatments for polycystic kidney disease, with a particular focus on drug repurposing. Alina currently works as Transporter Scientist at Roche.

Benyamin Naranjani defended his thesis Mechanics of Intestinal Motility for Oral Macromolecular Delivery in October 2025. In his doctoral project, conducted at the Department of Pharmacy within the framework of SweDeliver, Benyamin presents new insights how physiological factors in interaction with effective formulation and administration of permeation enhancers and peptide drugs can pave new way for oral delivery of biological drugs. Benyamin currently works as a Computational Modelling & ML Engineer at AstraZeneca.

Julia Parlow defended her thesis Diffusion of Model Drugs in Extracellular Matrix Mimetic Hydrogels – Towards an In vitro Model for Subcutaneous Injection in February 2026. In her work, conducted at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry within the framework of SweDeliver, Julia presents a new in vitro model that enables the assessment of bioavailability of subcutaneously injected drugs at a preclinical stage. Julia currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at Malmö University.

Chenyan Zhao defended her thesis Quantifying Effects of Antimicrobial Drug Combinations by Modelling and Simulation in November 2023. In her work, conducted within the Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics research environment at the Department of Pharmacy, Chenyan demonstrates how semi-mechanistic PKPD M&S can be leveraged to evaluate the effects of antibiotic combinations quantitatively and to understand the antibiotic-bacteria interaction. Chenyan Zhao currently works as Senior Scientist at AstraZeneca.

At the Spring Conferment Ceremony, our Faculty of Pharmacy also has the privilege to confer eleven new jubilee doctors: Lennart Dencker, Gudrun Ekberg, Rune Elofsson, Merete Schrøder-Nielsen and Uno Svensson.

See video about the Conferment Ceremony at Uppsala University

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o