Research interests:

• Formulation development for topical delivery of natural compounds
• Development of personal care products

Education:

• 2014 – Current ENSAT (Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse): French National School of Agricultural Science and Engineering, preparing for Bioengineering degree with specialization in Management.
• 2011 – 2014 : Preparatory classes (BCPST) at Janson de Sailly in Paris, France. Intensive undergraduate studies in physics, maths, biology and chemistry to prepare competitive exams for admission to French Grandes Ecoles
• 2011 :  French baccalaureat diploma in Sciences, France, awarded with honours, with European mention

Research Assistant Professor

Research interests:

• Biodegradable polymer matrices and networks for controlled drug delivery and tissue engineering applications;
• Angiogenesis

Current research:

• To prepare and characterize the tyrosine-derived, drug-loaded nanospheres and to investigate the effect of drug-loaded nanospheres on in vitro cellular bioresponse.
• To investigate the percutaneous penetration and skin distribution of the drug-loaded nanospheres in vitro.
• In vivo evaluation of drug-loaded nanospheres in preclinical psoriasis studies.

Experience:

• 1994-1999: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, China. Undergraduate;
• 1999- 2001: Department of Polymer Technology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland. Master;
• 2001-2005: Department of Polymer Chemistry and Biomaterials (PBM), University of Twente, the Netherlands. PhD;
• 2005- 2007: PostDoc researcher at the same group;
• 2007-2009: University Docent at the same group;
• June 2008-Sep. 2008:··· Visiting scientist in Professor Teruo Okano’s group at Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women’s Medical University;
• 2010-: New Jersey Center for Biomaterials. Research Associate.

Selected Publication and patents:

• Z. Zhang, D.W. Grijpma, J. Feijen; “Triblock copolymers based on 1,3-trimethylene carbonate and lactide as biodegradable thermoplastic elastomers”, Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 205: 867-875, 2004.
• Z. Zhang, R. Kuijer, S.K. Bulstra, D.W. Grijpma, J. Feijen; “The in vivo and in vitro degradation behavior of poly(trimethylene carbonate)”, Biomaterials 27:1741-1748, 2006.
• Z. Zhang, D.W. Grijpma, J. Feijen; “Poly(trimethylene carbonate) and monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(trimethylene carbonate) nanoparticles for the controlled release of dexamethasone”, Journal of Controlled Release 111: 263-270, 2006.

PhD Candidate

Research interests:

• Nanotechnology
• Polymeric drug delivery
• Tissue engineering

Experience:

• Research Assistant – New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ (1/2016 – present)
• Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Piscataway, NJ Pharm.D. Candidate 2017

Undergraduate

Research Interests:

• Tissue regeneration and pharmaceutical design and Synthesis

Current Research:

• Topical drug delivery using tyrosine-derived nanoparticles to treat Psoriasis

Experience:

• NJ Center for Biomaterials – Laboratory Technician

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Tissue engineering, transdermal drug delivery

Current research:

• Biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

Experience:

• Formulation Development Intern, ImClone Systems,· a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly (May- August 2010)
• Undergraduate Research, NJ Center for Biomaterials (January 2011- present)

Masters student

Research interests:

• Formulation and evaluation of novel drug delivery systems like buccal drug delivery, transdermal drug delivery & targeted nanoparticulate delivery systems.
• Biopharmaceutical manufacturing process design & unit operations.

Current research:

• Formulation and evaluation of transdermal patches

Experience:

• Intern: Provided strategic scientific intelligence to Amgen, AstraZeneca & Roche through a client (January – June 2013)
• Undergraduate research: Analytical method development, design and evaluation of buccal patches, buccal tablets & pH independent controlled release tablets – BITS pharmaceutical laboratory (Aug – Dec 2012)
• Research intern: Broader exposure in areas of pharmacokinetics, pharmaceutical analysis & pre-clinical studies – Delve Labs (May – July 2012)
• Research Intern: Development of new generation diagnostic reagents by incorporating monoclonal antibodies – Orchid Biomedical Systems (May – July 2011)

PhD candidate in Pharmaceutics

Education:

• Northeastern University, (Boston, MA), M.S. in Biotechnology
• Kaohsiung Medical University (Kaohsiung, Taiwan), B.S. in Medical Technology·

Experience:

• New Product Research Intern – GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (Parsippany, NJ)
• Teaching Assistant – Department of Pharmaceutics (Piscataway, NJ)
• Formulation Intern – Novartis Vaccine and Diagnostic (Cambridge, MA)
• Research Assistant – Department of Pharmaceutics (Northeastern University, MA)·

Research interests:

• Biodegradable drug delivery platforms (nanoparticles/micelles/electrospun scaffolds)
• In-vitro drug screening via skin tissue engineering

Selected Publications and patents:

• Tsai, P.-C., Lee, S. and Michniak-Kohn, B. In Vitro Methods for Screening Transdermal Formulations” in “Advances and Challenges in Transdermal Delivery”. Therapeutic Delivery. 2015 (Accepted).
• Sun, X.L., Tsai, P.-C., Bonder, E., Michniak-Kohn. B.; Pietrangelo, A., Thermoresponsive Block Copolymer Micelles with Tunable Pyrrolidone-based Polymer Cores: Implications for Micellar Drug Delivery and Core-Segment Design. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. (2015) (3):814-823. doi: 10.1039/c4tb01494d.
• Bhat. R., Patel. H., Tsai, P.-C., Sun, X.-L., Daoud. D., Lalancette, R.A., Michniak-Kohn. B., Pietrangelo, A. Effect of residue structure on the thermal and thermoresponsive properties of γ-substituted poly(N-acryloyl-2-pyrrolidones. Polymer Chemistry. 2015. (6):5993.
• Zheng, Z., Tsai, P.-C., Ramezanli, T., Polymeric nanoparticles-based topical delivery systems for the treatment of dermatological diseases. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Nanomed Nanobiotechnol. 2013 May-Jun;5(3):205-18. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1211.
• Zheng, Z., Ramezanli, T. Tsai, P.-C., Michniak-Kohn, B. Drug Delivery Systems Based on Tyrosine-derived Nanospheres (TyroSpheres™) in “Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery, Volume One: Nanoplatforms in Drug Delivery” Edited Arias, J.L. CRC Press Publishers, Oct 6, 2013.
• Ramezanli, T., Tsai, P.-C., Dorrani, M. and Michniak-Kohn, B. Aromatic iminosulfuranes: A novel class of transdermal penetration enhancers. In new edition of “Percutaneous Penetration Enhancers”, edited by Maibach, H. and Dragcevic-Curic, N. (2013) In press.
• Elangovan,S., Jain, S. Tsai, P., Margolis H., Amiji M., In Vitro Evaluations of PDGF-B Gene Delivery and Transfection using Nanosized Calcium Phosphate Particles, Journal of Periodontology 2012 March 13, doi:10.1902.
• Patent: Amiji, M., Ganta, S., and Tsai, P.-C. “Multimodal Diagnostic Technology for Early State Cancer Lesions”.· United States WO/2011/119822· (March 2011).

PhD candidate

Research interests:

• Drug delivery technologies for poorly water-soluble molecules, preformulation studies, pharmacokinetics/ADME, and specialized delivery systems for proof of concept pharmacology studies.

Current research:

• Use of polymer systems for oral drug delivery

Experience:

• Research Chemist – Preformulation to support selection of leads in discovery and clinical candidates in development; phase and formulation identification for pharmacology and toxicology studies – Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, NJ, USA (June 2004 -Present)

M.E

Research interests:

• Formulation development and drug delivery technologies
• Solid State Characterization

Experience:

• ME in Pharmaceutical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (2011-present)
• Research Scientist – Formulation development : Fast dissolving Amoxicillin Trihydrate; Rectal cream; Herbal tablet; On the process of Scaling-up of Highly Adsorbent Antibiotic Film in collaboration with Pharmanueva Co., Ltd and 3M (Thailand) (2010-2011)
  Pharmacist (2010-2011)
• BS in Pharmaceutical Science, Development of Highly Adsorbent Antibiotic Film for the Treatment of Acne, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

PhD candidate

Research interests:

• Permeation studies and transdermal drug delivery (using chemical enhancers and iontophoresis).
• Formulation development.
• Polymers and surfactants – thermal gelation, interaction mechanisms and rheological studies.

Current research:

• In-vitro permeation studies and analysis.
• Use of hydrogels as drug delivery vehicles for permeation across the skin.
• Transdermal drug delivery using skin penetration enhancement techniques (chemical enhancers and iontophoresis).
• Cell culture and cytotoxicity studies.

Experience:

• 2007- : Ph.D. candidate, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal /visiting student at New Jersey Center for Biomaterials / Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, NJ, USA.
• 2005- 2006: Quality Assurance manager at Labialfarma – Portugal.
• 1999- 2005: Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Coimbra. Undergraduate student.

Selected Publication and patents:

• Vishwas Rai, Indrajit Ghosh, Sonali Bose, Sergio M. C. Silva, Prafulla Chandra, Bozena Michniak-Kohn. A transdermal review on permeation of drug formulation, modifier compounds and delivery methods. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology (JDDST), France, 2010, 20 (2): 75-87.
• Sérgio M.C. Silva, Fátima V. Pinto, Filipe E. Antunes, Maria G. Miguel, João J.S. Sousa, Alberto A.C.C. Pais. Aggregation and gelation in hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose aqueous solutions. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 327 (2008) 333–340.

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Tissue Engineering of skin models using novel dermal polymeric scaffold
• Transdermal delivery and topical formulations
• Permeability testing of novel formulations of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac
• Drug formulations and nanotechnology

Experience:

• Center for Dermal Research CDR-Rutgers University, Piscataway NJ- Undergraduate Research Assistant (September 2012-Present)

PhD candidate

Research interests:

• Polymeric nano drug delivery
• Tissue engineering
• Formulation development for transdermal and topical drug delivery

Current research:

• Development and analysis of Human Skin Equivalents.
• Permeation studies of different drugs and formulations across human skin.
• In vivo evaluation of drug-loaded nanospheres in animal model of psoriasis.

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ Research Assistant (Sep2011-Present).
• Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. PharmD candidate. (2003-2010).

Selected Publication and patents:

• Gilani K, Moazeni S, Ramezanli T, Amini M, Fazeli M, Jamalifar H 2011. Development of Respirable Nanomicelle Carriers for Delivery of Amphotericin B by Jet Nebulization. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

PhD candidate

Research interests:

• Development and analysis of Human Skin Equivalents (HSE).
• Permeation analysis across biological and polymeric membranes.

Current research:

• Cell culture and bioengineering of HSE.
• Histological, Lipid and Gene Expression analysis of human/animal skin, HSE and other membranes.
• Creation of polymeric scaffold for improving mechanical strength of HSE.
• Mechanical testing of the scaffolds & HSE.
• Drug permeation studies of different drugs and formulations across different biological membranes e.g. skin, buccal, polymeric and HSE.

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ Research Assistant (June 2007-Present)
• Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Teaching Assistant (2008-Present)
  Summer Intern, Varian Inc., Walnut Creek, CA (2006)
• University of the Pacific, Teaching Assistant (2004-2007)
• Mass Spectroscopic Analysis for Flavor House Inc, Adelanto, CA (2005)
• Production Supervisor in manufacturing of Tablets, Capsules and Dry-syrups, Delta Aromatics, Okla, New Delhi, India (2003)

Selected Publication and patents:

• Vishwas Rai, Hock S. Tan, Bozena Michniak-Kohn, “Effect of surfactants and pH on naltrexone (NTX) permeation across buccal mucosa”, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, accepted-March 2011.
• Vishwas Rai, Nava Dayan, Bozena Michniak-Kohn, “A comparative evaluation of photo-toxic effect of fractionated melanin and chlorpromazine hydrochloride on human (dermal fibroblasts and epidermal keratinocytes) and mouse cell line/s (fibroblast Balb/c 3T3)” Toxicology in vitro, March 2011, 25, 2, 538-544.
• Vishwas Rai, Jenna Terebetski and B.Michniak-Kohn, Human Skin Equivalents as Alternatives for Transdermal Permeation, Phototoxicity and Cytotoxicity Studies, Transdermal, May 2010,· Volume 2, Number 3, 5-8.
• Vishwas Rai, Indrajit Ghosh, Sonali Bose, Sergio M. C. Silva, Prafulla Chandra, Bozena Michniak-Kohn, A transdermal review on permeation of drug formulation, modifier compounds and delivery methods. Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology (JDDST), 2010· 20 (2): 75-89.

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Enhancement of topical/transdermal drug delivery for improved and sustained in vivo pharmacological activity.

Current research:

• Development of solid lipid nanoparticles using various solutions composed of the natural, dietary flavonoid quercetin.

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ Research Assistant

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Development and enhancement of human skin equivalents (HSE)
• Analysis of permeation data of skin and polymeric membranes

Current research:

• Cell culture and development of HSE
• Permeation studies of different compounds and drugs through various membranes, including skin and HSE

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ – Research Assistant (Fall 2010 – Present)
• Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY – Volunteer Research Assistant (Summer 2010)

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Oral disintegrating films for drug delivery

Experience:

• Summer Research Fellowship Program, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (May – July 2012).
• Quality Control Student Intern, ImClone Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly (May – August 2011).

Undergraduate

Current research:

• Preparation and characterization of drug-loaded nanospheres
• Drug permeation and stability studies of nanosphere gel formulations

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ – Research Assistant (Fall 2010 – Present)

PhD candidate

Research interests:

• Use of polymeric nanospheres as delivery vehicles into/across biological membranes.
• Permeation analysis across skin, buccal tissue, and synthetic membranes.

Current research:

• Optimization of nanosphere-drug formulations
• In vitro transmucosal permeation studies
• Development of a synthetic membrane for transdermal testing
• Use of polymer systems to prevent transdermal penetration
• Drug permeation studies of different drugs and formulations across different biological membranes e.g. skin, buccal membranes, polymeric membranes.

Laboratory Researcher III

Education:

• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Columbia University
• M.S. in Chemical Engineering, Columbia University

Experience:

• Research Assistant, Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Research Assistant, Engineering Resource Center, Rutgers University

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ Research Assistant (June 2008-Present)
• Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Teaching Assistant (2007-2008)
• Scientist I – characterization dry powders for pulmonary drug delivery at Microdose Technologies – Monmouth Junction, NJ (2006-2007)
• Scientist I – responsibilities in spray drying and characterizion of powders for pulmonary drug delivery and formulation development for sustained release injectables – Alkermes, Inc. – Cambridge, MA (2005-2006)
• Research Associate II – Designed and evaluated drug delivery systems for topical, transdermal, and transungual delivery – MacroChem Corp – Lexington, MA (2001-2005)

Selected Publication and patents:

• Diksha Kaushik,Priya Batheja, Brian Kilfolye, Vishwas Rai and Bozena Michniak-Kohn. Percutaneous permeation modifiers: enhancement and retardation. Expert Opinion, Drug Delivery 2008; 5(5):517-529.

PhD Candidate

Research interests:

• Design and optimization of pharmaceutical unit operations by means of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) applications.

Current research:

• Development of novel methodologies for the prediction of dissolution profiles of polymer films by spectroscopy and multivariate statistics.

Experience:

• Research Intern – Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. (Salinas, PR)
• Process Analytical Technology Scientist (Contractor) – iPR Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Canóvanas, PR)
• National Field Test Site Coordinator – Industry University Research Consortium (San Juan, PR)
• Consulting Associate – Innovations In BioSciences Inc. (San Juan, PR)
• Quality Control Scientist I (Contractor) – Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (Guayama, PR)
• Research Assistant – Analytical & Pharmaceutical Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez, PR)
• Research Assistant – Engineering Research Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems at Rutgers University (Piscataway, NJ)
• Certified by the Polytechnic University (San Juan, PR) in Process Analytical Technologies (PAT)
• B.S. Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez, PR)

Publications:

• Karry KM, Mercado J, Alcalá M, Ríos-Steiner JL, Romañach RJ. “Design and In-line Raman Spectroscopic Monitoring of a Protein Batch Crystallization Process.” Journal of Pharmaceutical Innovation 3 (2008): 271-79.
• Karry KM, Figueroa J, Rentas R, Ely D, Carvajal MT, Romañach RJ. “Towards a 360º View of Blend Uniformity”, Conference Proceedings, ETIF. 2006.

Master’s student

Research interests:·

• Cosmetic formulation, transdermal drug delivery

Experience:

• Master’s student, Department of Pharmaceutics – Rutgers University, US (2014-Present)
• Research Intern – Sao Paulo’s Hospital, Brazil (2012-2013)
• Research Intern – Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases – Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (2011-2013)
• B.S. Biomedical Science – Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (2010-2013)

Honors:

• Brazil Scientific Mobility Program scholarship recipient 2014-2016.
• FAPESP scholarship recipient 2012-2013.

Undergraduate Pharmacy Honors Program Student

Research interests:·

• Human skin equivalents and tissue engineering
• Targeted nanocomposite drug delivery
• Antimicrobial properties of chitosan and hops plant extracts

Experience:

• Center for Dermal Research CDR- NJ Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ- Honors Research (January 2013-Present)
• Research Intern, Fragrance stability studies in extreme conditions, Givaudan Fragrance Corp. NY (2012)
• Undergraduate Intern, Antibacterial effects of chitosan and mixed chitosan plant extract nanoparticles, School of Natural Sciences, FDU· Teaneck, NJ (2009-2012)

Education:

• B.S. in Chemistry, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU)
• PharmD candidate, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Research interests.

PhD candidate

Research Interests:

• Preformulation development and characterization, formulation development of Solid dispersion using Melt Extrusion technology, drug delivery technology using Transdermal drug delivery system.

Experience:

• Research Scientist, Pharmaceutical Development of Oncology and Antihypertensive group of drugs using Solid Dispersion technology and characterization of different polymorphic forms of Drug molecules, Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA (Feb 2005 –Present).
• Formulation Development Scientist, Formulation Development on Solid Dosage Forms using Multilayer compression technology, Ranbaxy Pharmaceutical Inc., New Brunswick, NJ, USA (2002 –2005)·
• Research Executive, Formulation and Process development on Biopharmaceutical Class II and Class IV category Oral solid dosage forms, Zydus Cadila Healthcare, India (2001-2002)
  Research and Development Officer- Drug pre-formulation and formulation studies on Soft Gelatin Capsule formulation of poorly soluble compounds, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, India (1999-2001).
• MS in Pharmaceutical Science with thesis submitted on Transdermal Drug Delivery System, Jadavpur University, India (1997-1999).
• BS in Pharmaceutical Science, Jadavpur University, India (1993-1997).

Selected Publications:

• “Statistical Optimization of Transdermal Drug Delivery System of Terbutaline Sulphate” in Journal of Bollettino Chemico Farmaceutico, January – February, 2000. No. 1, page 26.
• “Design and evaluation of an oral controlled release microparticulate drug delivery system of a NSAID by Ionotropic Gelation Technique and Statistical optimization by factorial analysis” in Journal of Scientific Industrial Research, Volume 58, September, 1999, p 717-722.

Patents:

• Drug Delivery of 2 incompatible molecules by Multilayer compression technology, (Filed).
• Improving Bioavailability a poor soluble compound, (Filed).
• Solid Dispersion technology, (Filed).

PhD Candidate

Research interests:

• Polymeric drug delivery, tissue engineering, nanotechnology.

Experience:

• PhD Student, Department of Pharmaceutics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ. (03/2012-Present)
• PhD Student, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. (09/2009-03/2012)
• Pharm D, Azad University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Iran. (01/2003-06/2008)

Publications:

• M. R Zarrindast, M. Dorrani, R. Lachinani, A. Rezayof. Blockade of dorsal hippocampal dopamine receptors inhibits state-dependent learning induced by cannabinoid receptor agonist in mice. Neuroscience Research. (2010); 67: 25-3.

Volunteer researcher

Research interests:·

Drug delivery, pre-formulation studies, nanotechnology, formulation development of poor solubility and low bioavailability drugs.

Experience:

• PhD in Pharmaceutics, Bombay College of Pharmacy, Mumbai, India (2007-2011)
• Research trainee, Drug delivery research laboratory, USV Limited, India (2006)
• MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mumbai University, Mumbai, India (2004-2006)
• BS in Pharmacy, Mumbai University, Mumbai, India (1999-2003)

Publications:

• N.S. Desai, D.M. Bramhane, M.S. Nagarsenker, “Repaglinide-cyclodextrin complexes: Preparation, Characterization and in vivo evaluation of antihyperglycemic activity”, Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry 70(1-2): 217-225, 2011.
• N.S. Desai, C.R. Barhate, S.O. Biyani, S.R. Kulkarni, M.S. Nagarsenker “Quantification of Rutin and Isoquercitrin from leaf extracts of Annona squamosa and its pharmaceutical dosage form by HPTLC”, Journal of Planar Chromatography 24(4): 306-311, 2011.
• A.A.· Date, N.S. Desai, R.P. Dixit, M.S. Nagarsenker, “Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS): Formulation Insights, Applications and Advances”, Nanomedicine 5(10): 1595-1616, 2010.
• N.S. Desai, S.O. Biyani, P. Shetty, M.S. Nagarsenker, S.R. Kulkarni, S. Bhalerao, R. Munshi, U. Thatte, “Fractionated aqueous extract of leaves of DBT/DM/06: Characterization, In Vivo Evaluation and Formulation Development” (AAPS-NUS-BCP conference proceedings), Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 72(2): 273, 2010.

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Optimization and analysis of human skin equivalents (HSE)
• Permeation studies across biological and polymeric membranes

Current research:

• Cell culture and bioengineering of HSE
• Drug permeation studies of various solutions and formulations across biological and polymeric membranes (e.g. skin, polymeric HSE, other skin equivalents)

Experience:

• New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ – Research Assistant (Fall 2009-Present)

Pharmacy Undergraduate in LDD/CDR

Research interests:·

• Transdermal Drug Delivery with permeation enhancers
• Polymeric Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanotechnology

Experience:

• Research Assistant – New Jersey Center of Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ (9/2015 – present)
• Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Piscataway, NJ Pharm.D. Candidate (2018)
• Global Flavors Research Intern – Colgate-Palmolive Company (4/2013-present)

Undergraduate

Research interests:

• Enhancement of topical drug delivery methods, biodegradable polymer matrices for drug delivery applications.

Current research:

• In vivo evaluation of drug-loaded tyrosine-derived nanospheres for treatment of Psoriasis.

Experience:

• NJ Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ – Laboratory Technician
• Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Piscataway, NJ – Student Research Assistant
• Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA – Student Research Assistant

Ph.D. candidate

Research interests:

• Enhancement of transdermal/topical delivery of poorly water-soluble molecules, comparison of various routes of delivery (buccal vs transdermal).

Current research:

• Development and characterization of a topical/transdermal delivery system for the dietary flavonoid quercetin.

Experience:

• M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
• B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Jadavpur University, India
• Senior Scientist at Novartis Pharmaceuticals based in East Hanover, New Jersey
• Experience in solid dosage formulation development starting from pre-formulation (Phase I) all the way to scale-up and handover of process to technical operations·· for commercialization

Undergraduate

Research interests:·

• Tissue engineering of skin and other membranes
• Nanospheres as drug delivery vehicles- for treatment of psoriasis and melanoma
• Permeability studies of anti-inflammatory agents in “invisible” polymer patch systems
• Enhancement of buccal and transdermal drug delivery

Experience:

• Center for Dermal Research CDR- NJ Center for Biomaterials, Piscataway, NJ – Undergraduate Research (September 2012-present)