Local Points of Contact (Principle Investigators)

View Gøril Eide Flaten Profile page

Gøril Eide Flaten is a Professor in Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Drug Transport and Delivery research group, at the Department of Pharmacy, UiT the Arctic University of Norway. Gøril’s research focus is permeability of drug through different absorption barriers, both in respect of understanding the mechanisms and factors affecting the permeability of compounds and formulations, and means to improve the permeability through use of advanced (mainly lipid based) drug delivery systems. Her research experience further spans from development of models for permeability screening, formulation of poorly soluble drugs, characterisation of nanoparticulate delivery systems, biopharmaceutical characterisation of delivery systems (cell toxicity and permeability) to in vivo biodistribution studies in mouse tumor models.

Gøril Eide Flaten's research has so far resulted in >35 publications in reputed international peer review journals within the field of pharmaceutical sciences. Gøril is the leader of WP 2 Products in the NordicPOP consortium, member of the Norwegian Pharmacopeia Commission, member of the national publication panel for pharmacy, pharmacology and toxicology as well as member of both national and institutional committees for the bachelor and master programs in pharmacy.

Contact
Gøril Eide Flaten, Professor
Goril.Flaten@uit.no

ORCID: 0000-0002-0934-9773

Visit Jukka Rantanen Profile page

Jukka Rantanen is professor and head of department at the Department of Pharmacy (University of Copenhagen). His research is focusing on manufacturing sciences and specifically on process analytics of solid dosage forms. Jukka has a long experience in public-private co-operation in Europe, the US and Asia, where he has been involved in several large industry co-operation projects with 20+ international companies within fine chemical industries. Jukka is a member of the Process Analytical Technology (PAT) Working Party of the European Pharmacopoeia Commission.

Professor Rantanen is currently a chairman of the Steering Committee of the EUFEPS QbD and PAT Sciences Network (EUFEPS, European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences). During the period of 2018-2025, he has been the project leader of the Nordic University Hub, Nordic POP, with ten university partners. Jukka Rantanen has supervised 40+ PhD students. He has 300+ publications in scientific peer-reviewed journals and he is an editorial board member of several leading scientific journals within pharmaceutical sciences.

Contact
Jukka Rantanen, Professor
Jukka.Rantanen@sund.ku.dk
+45 35 33 65 85
+45 28 43 77 17

ORCID: 0000-0002-8211-5607

Visit Jarkko Ketolainen Profile page

Jarkko Ketolainen, PhD (Pharm.) is a Professor in Pharmaceutical Technology (since 2000) and the Head of School (since 2015), School of Pharmacy University of Eastern Finland. Professor Ketolainen has a strong background in pharmaceutical manufacturing related process and formulation development, especially in continuous manufacturing and process analytical technology.

Professor Ketolainen has published over 150 original peer reviewed international publications and supervised 15 completed PhD theses. In addition, he has obtained more than 8 million euro of research funding in total. Furthermore, Professor Ketolainen has been a member and 2nd vice chair of the Academy of Finland’s Research Council for Health (2013 -2018). He is also a member of EUFEPS’ (European Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences) QbD and PAT Sciences Network Steering Group (http://www.eufeps.org/NetworkQbDPAT) since 2007.Currently he is the University of Eastern Finland’s contact point in Nordic University Networks Nordic POP and NordicPharmaTrain.

Contact
Jarkko Ketolainen, Professor
Jarkko.Ketolainen@uef.fi

Visit Leena Peltonen Profile page

Leena Peltonen is University lecturer, Docent (adjunct professor) in Pharmaceutical technology, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki. Leena Peltonen’s research has resulted in >80 peer-reviewed papers in recognized international journals, 10 book chapters, 2 patents, and a lot of other scientific publications. She has supervised 10 doctoral thesis and >30 MSc thesis.

Leena Peltonen is Editorial Board member of the Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, she has been guest editor for three special issues, and she is the member of European Pharmacopoeia Commission Group 12 Dosage Forms and Methods in EDQM Council of Europe. Leena Peltonen’s main research interests include pharmaceutical technology, especially nanotechnology, physical pharmacy and dissolution and solubility analysis.

Contact
Leena Peltonen, University lecturer, Docent (adjunct professor)
Leena.Peltonen@helsinki.fi

ORCID: 0000-0002-6651-2792

Visit Hakon Hrafn Sigurdsson Profile page

Hákon Hrafn Sigurðsson is a Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland. He earned his Ph.D. in 2006 from the same institution, with part of his doctoral studies conducted under a Marie Curie Fellowship at Saarland University in Germany, focusing on advanced drug delivery systems. His research centers on improving drug bioavailability across mucosal membranes, with a particular emphasis on ocular drug delivery and the challenges associated with targeting the posterior segment of the eye. He works extensively with cyclodextrins and both mucoadhesive and mucoinert nanostructures to develop novel and effective drug delivery platforms.

In addition to his academic work, Hákon is actively involved in two start-up ventures: one dedicated to developing a peptide-based treatment for psoriasis, and the other focused on buccal drug delivery using an innovative delivery system.

Contact
Hákon Hrafn Sigurðsson, Professor
hhs@hi.is

ORCID: 0000-0003-4074-9182

Visit Ingunn Tho Profile page

Ingunn Tho is Professor in Pharmaceutics at University of Oslo, Norway. She earned her PhD from University of Oslo in 2003, followed by postdoctoral fellowship at University of Tromsø and University of Heidelberg. In 2005 she started as an Associate Professor at University of Tromsø, becoming Professor in 2010.

Professor Tho's research focuses on the development of patient-centered drug formulations to support the realization of personalized medicine, with particular emphasis on pediatric and mucosal drug delivery systems. In the field of pediatric medicines, this includes the development of age-appropriate dosage forms, the investigation of compatibility issues in parenteral drug formulations, and the evaluation of dosage form manipulation and its implications in clinical settings. Mucosal drug delivery is another key area of exploration, focusing on the design and optimization of vaginal drug delivery systems, buccal formulations, and the use of mucoadhesive and bioadhesive technologies to enhance drug retention and absorption at mucosal sites. Several delivery systems are explored including nanoparticulate systems, solid dosage forms, "nano-DDS in solid dosage forms", biopolymers, polymeric micelles.

Contact
Ingunn Tho, Professor
Ingunn.Tho@farmasi.uio.no

ORCID: 0000-0003-4241-4183

Visit Martin Brandl Profile page

Martin Brandl currently serves as a full professor at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark. His previous functions include full professor & head of department (UiT), (founding) director of pharmacy bachelor-& master-program (SDU), management team of COST-action (UNGAP), PI of more than 10 research projects and consortia, editor in chief European Journal of Pharma-ceutical Sciences, Elsevier. Together with professor Annette Bauer-Brandl, he is leading a team of dedicated scientist PostDocs, guest-researchers and PhD-students. He has mentored/supervised 35 PhD- and more than 50 bachelor- / master-students.

Professor Brandl's research is focusing on oral delivery of poorly soluble drugs, especially the mechanistic understanding of candidate-enabling formulations and in vitro tools for predictive performance ranking (artificial biomimetic barriers, combined dissolution/permeation, microdialysis sampling); Another focus is on the elucidation of colloidal and micro-particulate structures relevant for oral drug absorption.

Contact
Martin Brandl, Professor
mmb@sdu.dk

ORCID: 0000-0003-3561-5016

Visit Christel Bergström Profile page

Christel Bergström is a Professor Molecular Pharmaceutics at the Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Sweden, Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University, Australia and Deputy Dean of Collaboration (Medicine and Pharmacy), Uppsala University. She is the Director of The Swedish Drug Delivery Centre, an international competence center focusing on new strategies for more efficient drug delivery. She heads a research team of ~20 PhD students, post docs and senior researchers within the area of molecular pharmaceutics. The research is multidisciplinary within pharmaceutics, material sciences, physical chemistry and physiology. The group make use of advanced computational modelling, develop novel in vitro tools predicting drug absorption and distribution and design new type(s) of drug carriers in the quest for better medicines. A special focus directed towards on the influence of drug solubility and formulation performance on these processes.

Professor Bergström has published 85 articles and book chapters and given more than 70 presentations at international meetings. Her research program is funded by national and international sources e.g. the European Research Council, the Swedish Research Council, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and Sweden´s Innovation Agency. Since 2018 she is associate editor for Molecular Pharmaceutics.

Contact
Christel Bergström, Professor
Christel.Bergstrom@uu.se

ORCID: 0000-0002-8917-2612

Visit Jessica Rosenholm Profile page

Jessica Rosenholm, D.Sc.(Tech.), is Professor in Pharmaceutical Development and Head of Subject (Pharmacy) at the Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory, Åbo Akademi University, Finland. She graduated her D.Sc.(Tech.) degree from ÅAU in 2008 and her thesis “Modular Design of Mesoporous Silica Materials: Towards Multifunctional Drug Delivery Systems” was awarded national and international prizes, e.g. the Akzo Nobel Nordic Research Prize 2009 for best doctoral thesis and research activity in colloid and surface science in the Nordic countries. In 2009-2010 she spent a postdoctoral period at the Nano Biomedical Research Centre, Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. In 2010, she established her own lab, the BioNanoMaterials research group, and in 2015, she was appointed Professor in Pharmacy (Pharmaceutical Development) at ÅAU.

The main focus of Professor Rosenholm's research is nanomedicine development and exploration of other modern pharmaceutical development technologies such as 3D printing. Current project activities include heading the internal Centre of Excellence in Materials-driven Solutions for Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance (MADNESS) and being part of the ÅAU-led EU consortium Non-Animal Platform for Nanoparticle-Based Delivery across the Blood Brain Barrier Interface with Vehicle Evolution (NAP4DIVE).

Contact
Jessica Rosenholm, Professor
Jessica.Rosenholm@abo.fi

ORCID: 0000-0001-6085-1112