PhD Profile • Maryam Tofiq keeps all professional possibilities open

Maryam Tofiq in the laboratory at Uppsala Biomedical Center

“With one year to go before I defend my doctoral thesis, I am happy to conduct my PhD studies within the framework of SweDeliver. Being a research at a competence center that brings together academia and industry means that I receive important feedback on my work from numerous different perspectives, and that I have gained a better view of the many spheres of the pharmaceutical world," says Maryam Tofiq, PhD student at Uppsala University's Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences.

In the spring of 2022, Maryam published the first results of her PhD project in scientific journal Powder Technology. In the study, she examines the effect of a systematically varied excipient ratio of a plastic and a brittle material on the compression properties of dry granulated particles. Her next manuscript is already submitted for review. Thus, the goal is in sight for the work she began in 2018 in what was then known as the Swedish Drug Delivery Forum, SDDF.

“I received my Master of Science degree in Pharmacy at Uppsala University's Faculty of Pharmacy and some time later learned about SDDF. The close collaboration between companies and university aroused my interest, and when the forum's scientific leader, Professor Göran Alderborn, announced a doctoral project with the aim of developing a formulation technology platform for rational design of the manufacturing properties of dry granulated particles, I applied right away."

Barely four years later, two projects remain with a focus on validating the observations and conclusions made in the studies already completed. Facing scientific challenges that were from the start defined in dialogue with SweDeliver's industrial partners and followed by continuous talks regarding results and goals, expectations concerning the project's future industrial benefits are high. For her own part, however, Maryam Tofiq prefers to keep all professional possibilities open.

“Being a junior researcher at SweDeliver, you often interact with companies in different sizes, countries and focus areas. To me, this has provided many important opportunities to develop my abilities in scientific communication and project management, as well as gaining a wide understanding of the industry and the conditions they face. Within a year, I will bring with me the experiences and networks I have built and look forward to utilize them throughtout my future career, but where it will lead remains to be seen."