Parenteral Controlled Drug Delivery
Prof. René Holm, University of Southern Denmark
Dr. René Holm is Professor of Pharmaceutical Physical Chemistry at the University of Southern Denmark. He holds an MSc and PhD in Pharmaceutics from the University of Copenhagen and a DSc in pharmaceutics from the University of Southern Denmark. He began his pharmaceutical industry career at H. Lundbeck in 2001 and later joined Janssen in 2016, working in pharmaceutical development, non-clinical formulations, and preformulation of small and large molecules. In 2021, he transitioned to academia as a full professor. He is (co-)author of more than 275 peer-reviewed scientific publications and co-inventor on 19 published patents. His research focuses on parenteral drug delivery, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and long-acting injectable formulations.
Prof. Jérémy Odent, Laboratory of Polymeric and Composite Materials, Center of Innovation and Research in Materials and Polymers, University of Mons – Belgium
Jérémy Odent (ORCID ID 0000-0002-3038-846X) is an associated professor at University of Mons (UMONS, Belgium). His research focuses at the Laboratory of Polymeric Materials and Composites are centered around the development of stimuli-responsive polymeric materials and nanocomposites of desired properties and key-functionalities as well as the possibilities sustained by advanced additive manufacturing technologies to meet the ever‐increasing demand of complex device platforms. As a means of generating parts with novel functionality, the core technology of his research mainly rely on the generation of smooth structural gradients within the 3D-printed materials.
Prof. Jesper Østergaard, University of Copenhagen – Denmark
Jesper Østergaard is Professor of Pharmaceutical Physical Chemistry at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen. He is a trained pharmacist (1999) and earned his Ph.D. in pharmaceutics from University of Copenhagen in 2003, focusing on molecular interaction studies and prodrug design. He has published more than 150 scientific papers and is the co-founder of two spin-out companies.
His research centers on developing methods for the physical-chemical characterization of drug substances and delivery systems, with particular emphasis on drug transport and release. A major focus is the advancement of analytical techniques for in vitro release testing, particularly for injectable formulations, often incorporating UV imaging. An additional area of interest is the investigation of molecular interactions and kinetics, especially as they relate to profiling drug substances using capillary-based methods such as Taylor Dispersion Analysis (TDA) and Capillary Electrophoresis (CE).
Prof. Juergen Siepmann, University of Lille – France
Juergen Siepmann studied Pharmacy and did his Ph.D. at the Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany. Since 2004 he is Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Lille, France. His awards include the “APV-Prize for the outstanding doctoral thesis in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the years 1998/99”, a Marie Curie Individual Post-Doctoral Fellowship, the “2012 APV Research Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Pharmaceutical Sciences” and the “Highly Cited Researchers 2021” award (Clarivate). He was visiting scientist/postdoctoral fellow at Purdue University, the University of Paris-Sud, University of Iowa and University of Angers. Prof. Siepmann’s research focuses on controlled drug delivery systems, in particular on the elucidation of the underlying mass transport phenomena, mathematical modeling and the optimization of the devices. So far, he published his work in >200 articles in international scientific journals, >350 poster and >150 oral presentations at national and international scientific meetings. He is editor of 3 books, theme editor of 12 special issues, inventor of 9 patents and author of 17 book chapters. In 2010, Prof. Siepmann created the INSERM research group “Controlled Drug Delivery Systems and Biomaterials” (INSERM = French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), currently counting about 50 staff members (9 professors, 6 lecturers, 5 technical/administrative staff, 20 post-docs & PhD students and 10 master students). Prof. Siepmann supervised >40 PhD students/post-docs up to date. In 2015, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the “Journal of Drug Delivery Sciences and Technology”. Since 2016 he serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the “International Journal of Pharmaceutics”, since 2019 also of the gold open access companion journal “International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X”. Since 2010 he serves as president of the APGI (“International Society of Drug Delivery Sciences and Technology”). (February 2026)
Prof. Sandra Van Vlierberghe, Ghent University – Belgium
Since 2017, Sandra Van Vlierberghe (PhD in Sciences, Polymer Chemistry, 2008) is research professor at Ghent University (Polymer Chemistry & Biomaterials Group, Belgium), where she established a polymer-based technological platform leveraging the unique properties of light to address biomedical challenges. Internationally recognized for her pioneering work on photo-crosslinkable (bio)polymers and advanced 3D-printing technologies for regenerative medicine, she has been distinguished by prestigious awards, including the 2017 Jean Leray Award from the European Society for Biomaterials, honoring outstanding biomaterials research by scientists under 40, and the 2025 TERMIS-EU Mid-Term Career Award recognizing exceptional achievements in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Beyond academia, she has successfully translated her research into societal and economic impact through the co-founding of the spin-offs 4Tissue and BIO INX, strengthening the valorization of biofabrication and biomaterials technologies.