Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery and Therapy Workshop: A great success!

We are thrilled to look back on two days full of inspiring science, stimulating discussions, dynamic poster sessions, and genuine connections formed between researchers from Ireland, Wales, France, and Italy.

The event successfully organised by Prof. Silvia Giordani, brought together a vibrant community of established researchers and early-career scientists, bridging the fields of chemistry, materials science, biotechnology, nanomedicine, and photonics. Hosted in the LSRF building at Dublin University, the workshop began with a welcome address from Prof. Silvia Giordani.

We were incredibly proud to have two of our own team members take the stage to share our group’s latest research. Yingru Zhou delivered a fantastic presentation on the Surface-Engineered Carbon Nano-Onions for Targeted Chemotherapeutic Delivery, while Aravind Kannoth Anilkumar presented amazing results into the Laser-Assisted Photothermal Heating of Carbon Nano-Onions. Both talks sparked insightful discussions and highlighted our lab’s ongoing commitment in the development of carbon-based nanoparticles for drug delivery and therapy.

Over the course of two days, attendees enjoyed a diverse range of expert presentations, a few examples were:

Advanced Nano-Imaging & Computational Design: Showcasing optical nano-imaging and sensing with Prof. Zengbo Wang (Bangor University) and the computational design of the nano-bio interface with Prof. Paola Posocco (University of Trieste).

Targeted Cancer Therapeutic & Delivery: Highlighting strategies for targeting protein kinases in human cancers with Dr. May Morris (University of Montpellier), innovative approaches to breast cancer cells using thioprene BODIPY-Ruthenium complexesfrom Prof. Mary Pryce (DCU), and insights into multifunctional nanoparticles for localised heating and nanoscale thermometry with Prof. Joulia Larionova(University of Montpellier)

Commercial Innovation & Nanomaterials: Exploring the path “from lab to life” via antibody innovation and diagnostics with Dr. Paul Leonard (DCU).

The energy during our poster sessions was wonderful, showcasing the talent of early-career researchers and presenters (Dr. Francesco Bellina, Manikrishna Lakavanthu, Soumakanya Ram, Ciaran Brown and Piero Alaimo).

Organised as part of the Ireland-Wales Research Alliance collaboration between Dublin City University and Bangor University, this workshop also gave us the opportunity to look ahead. A final strategic afternoon session on EU proposal planning marked an exciting next step for this growing network of collaborations.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all our incredible speakers, poster presenters, and attendees. Thank you for making these two days of scientific discussion so rewarding and memorable!