Dr. Constantinides is President of Biopharmaceutical & Drug Delivery Consulting, LLC in Gurnee, Illinois, USA that he founded in 2004, and he has more than 30 years of industrial experience in drug delivery and pharmaceutical development. He received a University Diploma in Chemistry from Athens University in 1977 and PhD in Biochemistry from Brown University in 1983. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Pharmacology Department and Associate Research Scientist in the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Yale University School of Medicine (1983-1987). Past industrial positions held included: Vice President of R&D with DOR Biopharma and Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals (2000-2004), Director of Research at SONUS Pharmaceuticals (1997-2000) and from 1987 to 1997 a number of R&D positions of increasing responsibilities with LipoGen, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Laboratories.. He has heald adjunct faculty appointmnets with Roosevelt University College of Pharmacy in Schaumburg, Illinois, the Pharmaceutics Department of Washington University in Seattle, Washington and the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is inventor in 33 patents and patent applications, has authored more than 130 publications including review articles, book chapters and presentations on the parenteral and oral drug delivery of small molecules and peptides/proteins and has presented more than 100 invited talks at many national and international conferences, pharmaceutical companies and universities. Dr. Constantinides is AAPS Fellow, Past Chair of the AAPS Formulation Design and Development (FDD) Section, the Nanotechnology and Lipid-Based Drug Delivery Systems Focus Groups. He has received numerous honors and awards and serves as Associate Editor of the AAPS Open journal since its launch in the fall of 2015.

Drug formulation and delivery, pharmaceutical nanotechnology, lipid-based drug delivery systems, developing and applying enabling drug delivery technologies to improve poor drug solubility and/or permeability in drug discovery and product line extensions, oral peptide/protein delivery.

Arwyn obtained a Ph.D. in protein-crystallography at Birkbeck College, University of London and undertook postdoctoral endocytosis research at the University of Liverpool, Harvard University, and EMBL-Heidelberg as EMBO and Alexander von Humboldt fellow. Appointed as a lecturer at the Cardiff University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2001 he is now Professor of Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery. His research falls within cancer cell biology, endocytosis, and drug delivery. A major objective understands endocytosis to improve the cellular delivery efficiency of drug delivery vectors including peptides, natural and synthetic nanoparticles and antibodies targeting plasma membrane receptors. Recent work has concentrated on strategic approaches to plasma membrane targeting to stimulate endocytosis and intracellular targeting. Arwyn has published widely within these fields and his group has made significant contributions to the current understanding of the way drug delivery vectors interact with cells and enter endocytic pathways that govern their intracellular fate.

Cancer cell biology, endocytosis, and drug delivery

Dr. Gjumrakch Aliev, MD, PhD, President “GALLY” International Biomedical Research Institute Inc., San Antonio, Texas, USA. He also hold appointment with the University of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA as a Professor of Cardiovascular, Neuropathology, Gerontology, Health Science and Healthcare Administration. He received his MD in 1982, from the Baku Medical University (former USSR) with cum laude. Then he accomplished his PhD in Cardiovascular Diseases from the prestigious Russian Academy of the Medical Sciences, Moscow, Russia in 1988 with cum laude. He received postdoctoral training with Professor G. Burnstock in the University College of the London. He authored and coauthored more than 500 publications in the fields of neurodegenerative diseases research (Alzheimer disease), as well as cardio- and cerebrovascular disease, cancer, and electron microscopy. He is an outstanding teacher, scholar, and a renowned scientist in the area of cellular molecular physiology, and cardiovascular, and neurodegeneration-mediated pathologies and drug development including Alzheimer disease (AD). He is nationally and internationally reputed in his area.

Dr. Aliev’s accomplishments in the area of biochemistry and cellular biology have tremendous implications for drug design towards CNS Neurological Disorders, AD, cancer, and cerebrovascular and neurodegeneration related pathologies. He is world-renowned expert in electron microscopy. His work has been published in numerous prestigious journals such as Nature Clinical Cardiology, J. Neuroscience, Circulation Research, New England journal of Medicine, Blood, J. Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Atherosclerosis, CNS Neurological Disorders & Drug Targets, International J. Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Scientific Reports, and many others which reflect his leading role in his research areas. He is currently the Editor in Chiefs for “Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry”, “Applied Cell Biology”, “World Journal of Neuroscience”, “Open Journal of Psychiatry” and “Journal of Aging Science”, Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents in Medicinal Chemistry as well as which by itself shows the voluminous and outstanding work he has accomplished in the area of cellular and molecular biology as well as aged associated clinical sciences. He is one of most cited authors in his fields with high impact factors.

Esmaiel Jabbari is Tenured Full Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He directs the biomaterials, tissue engineering, and drug delivery laboratory which specialize on the design of 3D multi-cellular co-culture systems to study the effect of nanoscale spatiotemporal delivery of morphogens and physico-mechanical factors on the fate of stem cells. He has received numerous awards for his research program including the Berton Rahn Award in 2012 from the AO Foundation, the Stephen Milam Award in 2008 from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation, and elected for the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2013. He is the author of more than 250 books, book chapters, refereed journal articles and conference proceedings and he has mentored more than 130 scholars. He has served as the Academic Editor for PLOS ONE.

He directs the biomaterials, tissue engineering, and drug delivery laboratory which specialize on the design of 3D multi-cellular co-culture systems to study the effect of nanoscale spatiotemporal delivery of morphogens and physico-mechanical factors on the fate of stem cells. He has received numerous awards for his research program including the Berton Rahn Award in 2012 from the AO Foundation, the Stephen Milam Award in 2008 from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation, and elected for the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) in 2013. He is the author of more than 250 books, book chapters, refereed journal articles and conference proceedings and he has mentored more than 130 scholars. He has served as the Academic Editor for PLOS ONE.

Robert J Lee has received his PhD in 1994 from Purdue University. He was trained as a Postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and worked at GeneMedicine Inc. as a Sr. Scientist and then at Endocyte Inc. as VP of R&D. He has been a Professor in the College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University since 1997 and has more than 200 publications in the areas of targeted drug delivery systems and lipid-based nanoparticles. He has served regularly on NIH review panels and as the PI or Co-PI on many large NIH and NSF projects. He has collaborated extensively with biotech industry in his research on oligonucleotide delivery systems.

Dr. Lee's lab is focused on targeted drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles. Nanoparticles can serve as carriers of therapeutic agents, including nucleic acids such as siRNA, miRNA and anti-miRs, and facilitate their therapeutic delivery. The lab's effort is focused on improving nanoparticle composition based on rational design and directed at clinical applications. Ongoing projects include developing miR-targeting lipid nanoparticles and targeted chemotherapeutic drug formulations and bioconjugates for therapy of solid tumors, leukemias, diabetic wounds, and other diseases.

Stephan T Stern is Acting Deputy Director and Senior Principal Scientist at the National Cancer Institute’s Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL), located at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in Frederick, Maryland. The NCL assists in all phases of the nanomedicine drug development process, from early preclinical to late-stage clinical trials, working with academic laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry. At the NCL, he oversees nanomedicine pharmacology and toxicology. Data generated from these studies support formulation optimization, regulatory filings, and environmental risk assessment. His research interests include novel drug formulation, bioanalytical method development, and pharmacokinetic modeling. Prior experience includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in the division of drug delivery and disposition, and curriculum in toxicology, and work within regulated areas of the pharmaceutical industry. He received his BS degree in biochemistry from the University of Rochester and his Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Connecticut at Storrs. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

The NCL assists in all phases of the nanomedicine drug development process, from early preclinical to late-stage clinical trials, working with academic laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry. At the NCL, he oversees nanomedicine pharmacology and toxicology. Data generated from these studies support formulation optimization, regulatory filings, and environmental risk assessment. His research interests include novel drug formulation, bioanalytical method development, and pharmacokinetic modeling. Prior experience includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in the division of drug delivery and disposition, and curriculum in toxicology, and work within regulated areas of the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr Joël Richard is currently Senior Vice President, Peptides in IPSEN (France). He is globally leading all the pharmaceutical development activities of both injectable and oral peptide-based products, including APIs and drug products, with major franchises in Oncology, Endocrinology, and Neurology. Dr Richard has more than 25 years of experience in chemistry and biopharmaceutical R&D, including several previous global senior positions in various Biotech and Pharma companies, such as: - Vice President, Drug Product Development in Ipsen (France) (2008-2011), - Director, Pharmaceutical Development in Serono and Merck Serono (Italy, Germany) (2005-2008), - Vice President Research, and Europe R&D Director at Ethypharm (France) (2001-2004), - COO at Mainelab (France), a drug delivery company he co-founded, which was specialized in developing solvent-free processes for protein delivery systems (1999-2001). Dr Richard graduated from Ecole Normale Supérieure (Cachan, 1985). He has got a Ph.D. in Materials & Colloidal Science (University of Paris VI, 1987) and “Habilitation à Diriger less Recherches” in Chemistry (University of Bordeaux I, 1994).

In the last 20 years, Dr. Richard has focused his research activity on new formulation technologies and drug delivery systems (such as microspheres, nanoparticles, nanocapsules, chemically-modified proteins, supercritical fluid technology . . .), especially for injectable peptide and protein formulations. He has published 67 peer-reviewed scientific papers, 8 book chapters and 2 review editorials in various fields: polymers, colloids and interfaces, drug delivery, biodegradable microspheres, microencapsulation, supercritical fluids, protein formulations and post-translational modifications, nanoparticles, sustained-release formulations . . . He is the author of more than 120 international communications and 53 patent families.

Kang Choon Lee is Haengdan distinguished Professor at School of Pharmacy, Sung Kyun Kwan University, Korea. For over 30 years, his drug targeting laboratory has been focused on bioconjugation of peptide and protein drugs. He is internationally recognized as one of the leading experts in site-specific peptide/protein PEGylation and firstly demonstrated the therapeutic potential of novel site-specific PEGylated drugs such as GLP-1 and TRAIL. He has published over 170 papers in peer-reviewed journals and served as an invited speaker at many international conferences and EAB Member of many international scientific journals. He is honored as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) in 2003

He is internationally recognized as one of the leading experts in site-specific peptide/protein PEGylation and firstly demonstrated the therapeutic potential of novel site-specific PEGylated drugs such as GLP-1 and TRAIL. He has published over 170 papers in peer-reviewed journals and served as an invited speaker at many international conferences and EAB Member of many international scientific journals. He is honored as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) in 2003

Kohsaku Kawakami is currently working for National Institute for Materials Science in Japan, where he is leading Medical Soft Matter Group. His interest is in basic science and development of amorphous dosage forms, and also on development of a novel drug carrier using phospholipids. He has published more than 130 papers and book chapters, and has given more than 120 invited lectures. He was working for pharmaceutical companies including Merck and Co. and Shionogi and Co. for 13 years as a Senior Scientist prior to joining the current organization, where he was taking care of physicochemical characterization, formulation studies, and DDS studies for new chemical entities. He was in University of Connecticut, School of Pharmacy from 2001 to 2002 as a Visiting Scholar. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Kyoto University.

He is designing nano/micron-sized particles for efficient oral/pulmonary drug delivery via bottom-up process including spray-dry and electrospray methods. Efficient pulmonary drug delivery can be achieved only with good inhalation devices, which is of his interest as well.He has developed various colloidal carriers for drug delivery systems including liposomes and microemulsions. Improvement of their functions and elucidation of their action mechanism in vivo are being conducted.

Prof Prakash Diwan obtained his Ph.D from Post graduate Institute of medical Education and research, Chandigarh, India. Contributed in the areas of Novel Drug Delivery systems & drug discovery. Published over 200 papers in pre reviewed journals. He delivered guest lectures in India and abroad. Dr. Diwan has many awards instituted by Indian Pharmacological Society. He has served as founder Director of NIPER, Hyderabad and fellow of Royal society of London, FRSC (London). Presently working as Technical Advisor, Indian Pharmacopeia Commission, Government of India, Director School of Pharmacy, and Hyderabad. Director, CRL, Maratha Mandal Group of Institutions, Belgaum and Consultant for Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad.

Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacology

Vinod Labhasetwar, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University and a senior staff member of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland The clinic, both in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He leads Cleveland Clinic’s Cancer NanoMedicine Program, a collaborative effort jointly sponsored by the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Taussig Cancer Institute. The primary research focus of Dr. Labhasetwar’s laboratory over the past 25+ years has been on nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery in the context of translational and clinical medicine, particularly focusing on disease conditions where no effective treatments yet exist. HIs team’s specific interests are in developing effective approaches to cancer therapy (against drug resistance and metastasis), cardiovascular diseases (particularly inhibition of restenosis), and facilitating neuromuscular repair mechanisms in stroke and spinal cord injury. Recently, his group’s efforts have been expanding into two new areas: retinitis pigmentosa, with the goal of slowing the progression of photoreceptor degeneration; and transplantation research, with the objective of extending the critical window of time for organ preservation. Dr. Labhasetwar has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He is listed among 2014 and 2015 Highly Cited Researchers by Thomson Reuters, based on the top 1% of citations during the past 10 years. He has over 25 issued the US and international patents and 4 provisional US patents filed/pending. Dr. Labhasetwar is Editor-in-Chief of Drug Delivery and Translational Research, an official journal of the Controlled Release Society. He has received many Distinguished Scientist and Innovator awards and is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists and the Controlled Release Society.

Biomedical Engineering, Cancer NanoMedicine, Drug Delivery, cancer therapy, cardiovascular diseases (particularly inhibition of restenosis), neuromuscular repair mechanisms in stroke and spinal cord injury

Dr. Blondino has over 20 years of broad based drug development experience in parenteral, oral liquid, and inhalation products. He is currently the Director of Drug Development at Kaleo, Inc. in Richmond, Virginia. He has held industrial positions of increasing responsibility at NovaDel Pharma, Magellan Laboratories, Baker Norton Pharmaceuticals, and Hoechst Marion Roussel. In addition, he has held academic positions at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics in 1995 from Virginia Commonwealth University after receiving his B.S. in Pharmacy from the same institution. He has published numerous articles and is co-inventor of 15 United States patents. My professional interests are in fulfilling unmet medical needs during life-threatening emergency situations, difficult to formulate compounds, drug delivery, and technology transfer.

Drug Delivery and Technology transfer