Research and Recruitment

Research

With the recruitment of over 30 academics to the Division of Pharmacy, it is intended that a new community of research will develop, not only providing students with the opportunity for research-led teaching, but also making a significant contribution to academic research on a national and international basis.

The Wolfson Research Institute provides a focal point at the University for research on human health and well-being. Pharmacy will add a further dimension to the work of the Institute, bringing the perspective of another discipline to an already vibrant research facility.

There are key research strands developing within the Division, and these are

• Targeted Drug Delivery and Disease-Selective Medicines. Current thematic focus areas within this strand are development of anti-cancer treatments with improved tumour selectivity and reduced system toxicities, and development of treatment strategies to maximise therapeutic efficiacy in the treatment of chronic pain.
• Dosage Form Production. This provides an opportunity to work with the pharmaceutical industry to help solve some of their highly applied problems and directly affect their productivity.
• Pharmaceutical Public Health. The potential for community pharmacists to contribute to public health is becoming an area of significant interest. There is repeated reference in governmental reports to the potential for community pharmacists to work to address a variety of public health issues, not least problematic health behaviours such as smoking, excessive alcohol and poor diet.
• Rational Medicines Use. The safe and efficient use of medicines in primary and secondary care is central to the role of the pharmacist. There are a range of opportunities to examine prescribing trends in chronic disease. Medicines are becoming increasingly complex and patients are being given more preventative medicine focused at improving their health and prolonging their life. This type of chronic prescribing is not without risk and the potential for complications leading to iatrogenic morbidity and/or mortality. There are varied opportunities to examine chronic prescribing habits to both optimise the initial treatment and ensure that any associated risk is mitigated.

Find out more about the research interests of our current staff by visiting their staff profiles