Track PhD Students & Alumni

Here we present the highly talented PhD Students that are part of our Research track Track Drug Development. You can also download our PhD Student catalogue. Pdf, 959 kB. We also present some of our alumni that have already moved on to the next step in their careers.

Benyamin Naranjani

I am a mechanical engineer with expertise in computational fluid dynamics and macroscale transport mechanisms. Currently, I hold a PhD candidacy in Pharmacy at Uppsala University where my work focuses on advancing oral drug delivery through computational modeling and mechanistic approaches, driven by a passion to better understand transport mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract.

My research aims to improve our understanding fate of drugs in the gastrointestinal tract to optimize formulation design and enhance bioavailability. I have collaborated with both academic and industry partners, contributing to digitalization initiatives in pharmaceutical technology. In addition to research, I mentor students in the Computational Pharmaceutics course at Uppsala University.

Benyamin Naranjani, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular Pharmaceutics
Benyamin.Naranjani@farmaci.uu.se

Benyamin Naranjani, Dep. of Pharmacy

Benyamin Naranjani, Dep. of Pharmacy

Marilena Marinaki

I have a M.Sc. degree in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Crete. After my studies, I worked as a research assistant in the Dep. of Materials Science and Engineering in Ångström laboratory. I started my PhD in December 2020, in the Pharmaceutical Physics group at Uppsala University.

My PhD research aims to provide an understanding of the processes that control the structure and properties of granules formed by application and subsequent removal of pressure. The primary goal is to develop protocols for analytical powder compression, with a particular focus on the unloading stage. As a secondary objective, the work aims to develop contact models and modelling procedures that enable the simulation of the complete loading–unloading cycle at the particle scale.

Marilena Marinaki, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmaceutical Physics
Marilena.Marinaki@uu.se

Marilena Marinaki, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Marilena Marinaki, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Albin Leding

I hold a Master of Science in Engineering from the Chemical Engineering program at Uppsala University and am currently pursuing a PhD in the Pharmacokinetic and Quantitative Pharmacology Research Group at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences.

My research involves building pharmacometrics models for translational purposes as well as applying pharmacometrics in early drug combination evaluation.

Albin Leding, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmacokinetics and Quantitative Pharmacology
Albin.Leding@uu.se

Albin Leding, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Albin Leding, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Emilie Langeskov

I hold a BSc and MSc in Pharmacy from Copenhagen University. In 2019 I did my masters in collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S and Copenhagen University. In 2022 I began my industrial PhD project which is in collaboration between Novo Nordisk A/S and Uppsala University.

My PhD project aims to build a physiological based pharmacokinetic model of GalNAc-siRNAs and other therapeutic peptides. The purpose of my project is to quantify target tissue distribution and off target tissue distribution where tissue biopsies are not possible.

Emilie Langeskov, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Translational Drug Discovery and Development
Emilie.Langeskov@uu.se

Emilie Langeskov, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Emilie Langeskov, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Victoria Östman

I hold a M.Sc. in Pharmacy from Uppsala University and since June 2024 I have been pursuing a PhD in pharmacotherapy at Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital while working as a clinical pharmacist part-time.

My PhD project, “Improved Medication Information and Patient Involvement At Care Transitions" (IMPACT-care) is a project aimed at improving communication about medication changes at hospital discharge to increase patient safety and reduce unnecessary healthcare-associated injuries.

Victoria Östman, Dep. of Pharmacy
Clinical pharmacy and pharmacotherapy
Victoria.Ostman@farmaci.uu.se

Victoria Östman, Dep. of Pharmacy

Victoria Östman, Dep. of Pharmacy

Mingshu Zhang

I earned a bachelor's degree in Bioengineering from Southeast University, China, and later completed a master's degree in Applied Biotechnology at Uppsala University. Currently, I’m conducting PhD study at Phamacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University.

My project focus on developing peptide candidates inspired by natural products as pharmaceutical tools. Aiming for Rheumatoid Arthritis autoantibody detection, diagonisis, and machanism understanding.

Mingshu Zhang, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmacognosy
Mingshu.Zhang@uu.se

Mingshu Zhang, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Mingshu Zhang, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Han Liu

After completing my B.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Science in China, I moved to Sweden and earned an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Modeling from Uppsala University in 2020. In 2021, I began my PhD in Pharmacometrics under the supervision of Lena Friberg and Mats Karlsson.

My research focuses on developing integrated models for efficacy, safety, and quality of life data in oncology. The goal is to create pharmacometrics frameworks to guide dose selection and individualization of anti-cancer treatments.

Han Liu, Dep. of Pharmacy
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
Han.Liu@farmaci.uu.se

Han Liu, Dep. of Pharmacy

Han Liu, Dep. of Pharmacy

Lidia Habtemikael

I am a pharmacist by training and graduated with a MSc degree in Pharmacy from Uppsala University in 2019. I am currently a PhD student under the supervision of Christel Bergström.

My project aims to develop personalized 3D-printed dosage forms for children, focusing on the formulation of poorly water-soluble compounds printed as solid oral products that are easily dissolved.

Lidia Habtemikael, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular Pharmaceutics
Lidia.Habtemikael@farmaci.uu.se

Lidia Habtemikael, Dep. of Pharmacy

Lidia Habtemikael, Dep. of Pharmacy

Alina Meyer

Having always been interested in Natural Science, I obtained both my German State Examination in Pharmacy and my M.Sc. in Drug Research at the CAU in Kiel, Germany. I interned at different research facilities and performed my master’s project on liver organoids at Uppsala University. After gaining hands on experience as a licensed pharmacist, I returned to Uppsala to pursue my PhD in Drug Delivery as a member of the Per Artursson group.

My project focuses on the pharmaceutical profiling and intracellular bioavailability of repurposing lead candidates for the treatment of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD).

Alina Meyer, Dep. of Pharmacy
Drug Delivery
Alina.Meyer@farmaci.uu.se

Alina Meyer, Dep. of Pharmacy

Alina Meyer, Dep. of Pharmacy

Marco Tjakra

I studied Biomedical Engineering in Chongqing University, China and graduated with a Master of Engineering degree in 2020. My previous research involves signaling pathway in the neurovascular unit and hemodynamic force, as well as toxicology. During a bachelor study in Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, I investigated antimicrobial compound from essential oil to combat oral biofilm forming bacteria. I graduated in 2016 as a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology.

My project aims to improve the understanding of drug dissolution, diffusion, and absorption from the human colon with a focus on the role of the colonic mucus layer. The obtained results will be used to design drug delivery decision trees for colonic drug delivery as well as improved in silico models for drug absorption from the colon as part of a COLOTAN project.

Marco Tjakra, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular Pharmaceutics
Marco.Tjakra@farmaci.uu.se

Marco Tjakra, Dep. of Pharmacy

Marco Tjakra, Dep. of Pharmacy

Yael Suárez

I received my BSc. in Biotechnology Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey. Afterwards, I was awarded an EMJMD Scholarship to carry out a MSc. in Nanomedicine for drug delivery at University of Paris, and I completed my master thesis on NIR-luminescent nanoparticles at the Karolinska Institute before joining Prof. Alexandra Teleki at Uppsala University for my PhD studies.

My current research aims to engineer iron oxide-based magnetic biosensors to quantify inflammatory bowel disease activity by magnetic imaging techniques such as MRI and MPI.

Yael Suárez, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular Pharmaceutics
Yael.Suarez@farmaci.uu.se

Yael Suárez, Dep. of Pharmacy

Yael Suárez, Dep. of Pharmacy

Anton Norberg

I hold a master’s degree in Pharmacy from Uppsala University and, since September 2023, I have been pursuing a PhD in the pharmaceutical physical chemistry group at Uppsala University.

My PhD projects aim to increase our understanding of factors influencing the interactions of peptide and protein therapeutics with the subcutaneous tissue and to evaluate the predictive capacity of in vitro methods for assessing the absorption and bioavailability of subcutaneously administered therapeutics.

Anton Norberg, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmaceutical physical chemistry
Anton.Norberg@ilk.uu.se

Yuming Zhang

Anton Norberg, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Yuming Zhang

I have a B.Sc. in Pharmacy from China and graduated with an M.Sc. in Medical Biology from Linköping University in 2021, with a focus on the development of gold nanoparticle-based vaccines. During my master's studies, I also worked as a research assistant with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. I began my PhD in 2021 at Uppsala University's Molecular pharmaceutics group under the supervision of Prof. Alexandra Teleki.

My PhD project aims to develop non-invasive or minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for colorectal cancer using superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. The project is highly multidisciplinary, involving materials science, pharmaceutical nanotechnology, formulation development, molecular biology, and medical biology.

Yuming Zhang, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular pharmaceutics
Yuming.Zhang@farmaci.uu.se

Yuming Zhang

Yuming Zhang, Dep. of Pharmacy

Amaury O'Jeanson

I'm a pharmacist by training, I did my core study in Rouen (France), and my hospital residency in Montpellier (France). Before joining the Pharmacometrics Research Group, I was interning at the Clinical Pharmacometrics Department of Roche (Basel, Switzerland).

My PhD project involves designing a clinical study in pneumonia patients infected with carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae treated with ceftazidime-avibactam (CEF-AVI), and supporting the conduct of this clinical study. I'll develop population PK models for CEF and AVI based on the generated data; define relationships between antibiotic concentration, MIC, bacteria mRNA and biomarkers, and the measurements’ in PKPD-models for both CEF and AVI to guide future individual dose-adjustments in model-based precision dosing.

Amaury O'Jeanson, Dep. of Pharmacy
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
amaury.ojeanson@farmaci.uu.se

Amaury O'Jeanson

Amaury O'Jeanson, Dep. of Pharmacy

Budi Octasari Susanto

I am a pharmacist by training since 2016 after finishing my pharmacist education from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. I graduated with MSc degree in Pharmaceutical Modeling from Uppsala University, Sweden in 2018.

My PhD research project mainly focuses on translational pharmacometrics modeling in tuberculosis drug development.

Budi Octasari Susanto, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmacokinetics & Quantitative Pharmacology
budi.octasari@uu.se

Budi Octasari Susanto, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Budi Octasari Susanto, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Eman Ibrahim

I am a pharmacist from Cairo, Egypt. Currently, I am a PhD student at pharmacometrics research group, Department of Pharmacy. I got my MSc degree in pharmaceutical sciences from Uppsala University (pharmaceutical modelling program, thesis project within pharmacometrics) and my BSc degree in pharmaceutical sciences from Ain Shams University, Egypt.

My research is focused on translational (pharmacometrics) models for anticancer drug development mainly cancer vaccines.

Eman Ibrahim, Dep. of Pharmacy
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
eman.ibrahim@farmaci.uu.se

Eman Ibrahim, Dep. of Pharmacy

Eman Ibrahim, Dep. of Pharmacy

Erik Rein-Hedin

I work as a clinical research physician and I am an industry-based doctoral student at the Department of Surgical Sciences. I have acted as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials in all clinical phases but I am mainly dedicated to Phase I trials, including first-in-human.

My research project aims to help improve design and conduct of first-in-human clinical trials in healthy volunteer subjects. I am also a member of The Swedish Pharmaceutical Society where I sit as a board member of the scientific section for clinical trials.

Erik Rein-Hedin, Dep. of Surgical Sciences
Plastic Surgery
erik.rein-hedin@uu.se

Erik Rein-Hedin, Dep. of Surgical Sciences

Erik Rein-Hedin, Dep. of Surgical Sciences

Esther Olaniran Håkansson

I completed my master’s degree in Pharmacy at Uppsala University in 2020 and shortly after, I commenced my PhD studies at the same university under the supervision of Luke Odell.

My current research focuses on the design and synthesis of small molecule IRAP inhibitors, which are potential drugs for the treatment of neurological diseases in which memory dysfunction is observed.

Esther Olaniran Håkansson, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Preparative Medicinal Chemistry
esther.olaniran.hakansson@ilk.uu.se

Esther Olaniran Håkansson, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Esther Olaniran Håkansson, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Fanny Lundmark

I have a Master of Science Programme in Pharmacy from Uppsala University. My PhD project investigates the use of a heterodimeric radiotracer with the ability to bind two different targets overexpressed in prostate cancer can be beneficial compared to using the monomers respectively.

Therefore, my project focus on development of new heterodimeric radiotracers targeting PSMA and GRPR for imaging of prostate cancer, with specific focus on improving the affinity towards PSMA. My project involves organic synthesis, radiochemistry, in vitro and in vivo studies.

Fanny Lundmark, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Preparative Medicinal Chemistry
fanny.lundmark@ilk.uu.se

Fanny Lundmark, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Fanny Lundmark, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Frida Bällgren

I have a Master of Science degree in Pharmacy from Uppsala University and I am a PhD Student in translational Pharmacokinetics Pharmacodynamics. My research project is about brain specific drug delivery, by targeting active uptake at the blood-brain barrier.

The aims of the project are to evaluate the potential of using active uptake at the blood-brain barrier to improve drug delivery to the central nervous system in humans, in health and disease, and to optimize methods for enhanced translational predictions.

Frida Bällgren, Dep. of Pharmacy
Translational PKPD
frida.ballgren@farmaci.uu.se

Frida Bällgren, Dep. of Pharmacy

Frida Bällgren, Dep. of Pharmacy

Rosita Carolina Kneiszl

I am a registered pharmacist with my master's degree from Uppsala University. I performed my master thesis at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's hospital, Boston, US. Currently, I am a second-year PhD student at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy at Uppsala University.

In my PhD project, I study oral drug delivery of peptides with computational tools such as molecular dynamics simulations.

Rosita Carolina Kneiszl, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular Pharmaceutics
rosita.kneiszl@farmaci.uu.se

Rosita Carolina Kneiszl, Dep. of Pharmacy

Rosita Carolina Kneiszl, Dep. of Pharmacy

Quentin Laborde

I have a bachelor degree in cell biology and physiology from the University of Clermont-Ferrand, France. After a master’s degree in marine biological sciences, specialization in Valorization of Biotechnological Marine Resources, at the European Institute for Marine Studies, Plouzané, France, I am currently conducting my PhD studies at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University.

Here, I focus on the discovery, characterization and evaluation of the potential utility of alpha-nemertides (peptide toxins) from nemertean worms as pharmaceutical and/or agricultural tools.

Quentin Laborde, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmacognosy
quentin.laborde@uu.se

Quentin Laborde, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Quentin Laborde, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Shno Asad

I graduated with a Master’s degree in pharmacy and chemistry from the University of Gothenburg in January 2019 and I am a PhD student at the Department of Pharmacy.

My current work aims to develop a new strategy to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using functional nanomaterials. By creating an oral vehicle that incorporates magnetic nanoparticles, I aim to establish a noninvasive diagnostic approach, as well as to deliver therapeutics in a localized manner for a more efficient and targeted treatment.

Shno Asad, Dep. of Pharmacy
Molecular Pharmaceutics
shno.asad@farmaci.uu.se

Shno Asad, Dep. of Pharmacy

Shno Asad, Dep. of Pharmacy

Leticia Arrington

I have a BSc. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and MSc. in Pharmacology. Currently, I am doing my PhD studies within a cooperative project between the Pharmacometrics Research Group at Uppsala University and Pharmacometrics department -Merck Sharpe & Dohme., (USA).

My project focuses on disease progression modeling utilizing item response theory and application in clinical trial development. The aim is to evaluate the advantages and limitations of IRT methodology in a disease progression framework and its ability to inform clinical trial design and analysis.

Leticia Arrington, Dep. of Pharmacy
Pharmacometrics
leticia.arrington@farmbio.uu.se

Leticia Arrington, Dep. of Pharmacy

Leticia Arrington, Dep. of Pharmacy

Lina Keutzer

I am a registered pharmacist from Berlin, Germany. Currently, I am a second-year PhD student at the Pharmacokinetics and Quantitative Pharmacology Research Group, Department of Pharmacy.

My research is focused on building translational (pharmacometric) models for development and dose individualization of drugs against tuberculosis.

Lina Keutzer, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmacokinetics and Quantitative Pharmacology
lina.keutzer@uu.se

Lina Keutzer, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Lina Keutzer, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Matthew Rosenberg

I completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, followed by a Masters in Drug Discovery and Development, at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. In 2020 I moved to Uppsala to begin my PhD studies with Lindon Moodie, as part of the Drug Design and Discovery group in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.

My PhD project is focused around developing new strategies towards small-molecule antibiotics.

Matthew Rosenberg, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Drug Design and Discovery
matthew.rosenberg@ilk.uu.se

Matthew Rosenberg, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Matthew Rosenberg, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Rebekkah Hammar

American-born, I grew up in Germany, where I studied both Pharmaceutical Sciences (B.Sc., M.Sc.) and Pharmacy (State Examination) at LMU Munich. After interning at Roche in Regulatory Affairs, I am now pursuing my PhD in Drug Delivery (Artursson group).

My project focuses on intra- and extracellular drug concentrations in the colon and is part of the COLOTAN ETN.

Rebekkah Hammar, Dep. of Pharmacy
Drug Delivery
rebekkah.hammar@farmaci.uu.se

Rebekkah Hammar, Dep. of Pharmacy

Rebekkah Hammar, Dep. of Pharmacy

Meet our Research Track Alumni

Andrea Benediktsdottir

I have a B.Sc. in Pharmacy from University of Iceland and M.Sc. in Drug Discovery and Development from Uppsala University 2017. I conducted my PhD studies in Anders Karléns Drug Design and Discovery group, with Anja Sandström as my main supervisor at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.

My PhD project included designing and synthesizing new bacterial protease inhibitors, aiming for promising antibacterial hits.

Andrea Benediktsdottir, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Drug Design and Discovery
andrea.benediktsdottir@ilk.uu.se

Andrea Benediktsdottir, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Andrea Benediktsdottir, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Pierre Cheung

I was a PhD in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in the group of Translational PET imaging under the supervision of Olof Eriksson. I previously did my graduate studies at UCLouvain, Belgium in the field of Biomedical Sciences.

My PhD project included quantification of beta islets mass through the use of PET imaging method.

Pierre Cheung, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Translational PET Imaging
pierre.cheung@ilk.uu.se

Pierre Cheung, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Pierre Cheung, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Maryam Tofiq

I graduated from Uppsala University with a M.Sc. degree in Pharmacy in 2015 with a degree project in Pharmacokinetics. I then worked as a rotational pharmacist in a trainee program at a pharmacy company in Sweden. I conducted my doctoral studies within Swedish Drug Delivery Center (SweDeliver) in the Pharmaceutics group.

My PhD project focused on tablet forming ability of dry granulated particles. In one project, I worked on the assessment of mechanical properties of dry granulated particles using analytical powder compression.

Maryam Tofiq, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Pharmaceutical Technology
maryam.tofiq@uu.se

Maryam Tofiq, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Maryam Tofiq, Dep. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences

Emmi Puuvuori

I am a PhD in translational medicine at Uppsala University's Department of Medicinal Chemistry.

My research focuses on translational PET imaging targeting inflammation.

Emmi Puuvuori, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry
Translational PET Imaging
emmi.puuvuori@ilk.uu.se

Emmi Puuvuori, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

Emmi Puuvuori, Dep. of Medicinal Chemistry

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