Our Team

Simone Aleandri

Senior scientist

Gregor Bordon

PhD student

"Biocompatible depot systems for immunomodulatory treatment of patients after vascularized composite allotransplantation"

Ivo Skorup

PhD student

"Novel treatments 
for chronic liver diseases"

Sarah Teworte

PhD student

"Localised delivery
for endometrial fibrosis"

Assumpta Widak

PhD student

"Oral solid dosage forms for the treatment of liver fibrosis"

Remo Eugster

PhD student

"Lipid-based depot formulation for subcutaneous administration"

Amirmohammad Seidi

Master student in Chemistry and Molecular Science, University of Bern

Rafaela Gazzi

PhD student

"Lipidic mesophases as drug delivery systems"

Ana Lucic

Master student in Molecular Life Sciences, University of Bern

Niklaas Manten

Master student in Chemistry and Molecular Science, University of Bern

Chiara Galli

Master student in Pharmacy, ETH Zurich

Images created with BioRender

Alumni

Dr. Aymar A. Ganguin

PhD student @ University of Bern (2020-2023)

Michelle Arnet

Master student in Nanoscience @ University of Basel (2023)

Dr. Christoph Zimmermann

External PhD student @ University of Bern in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Olivia Merkel @ LMU Munich (2022)

Louis Robbe

Master student from the “École de Chimie, Polymères et Matériaux” and “École Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg”, France (2022)

Tijana Dudevic Abramovic

BNF Intern @ University of Bern (2022)

Niklaas Manten

Bachelor student in Chemistry and Molecular Sciences @ University of Bern (2022)

Dr. Gina Valentino

PhD student @ FSU Jena and University of Bern (till 2020), then postdoc @ University of Bern (2021-2022)

Dr. Marianna Carone

PhD student @ University of Bern (2020-2023)

Elena Allegritti

Visiting PhD student @ University of L’Aquila (2022-2023)

Garima Yadav

Intern/Master student in Molecular Life Science @ University of Bern (2022)

Jessica Weber

Master student in Pharmacy @ University of Bern (2022)

Danilo König

2nd year Laboratory Apprentice @ University of Bern (2022)

Michael Cibien

Master student in Molecular Life Sciences @ University of Bern (2022)

Dr. Despo Chatzikleanthous

Postdoc @ University of Bern (2021-2022)

Dr. Cristina Zivko

PhD student @ FSU Jena and University of Bern (till 2021)

Gloria Garcia Ortega

Visiting Ph.D. student from Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona @ University of Bern (2021)

Jana Leuenberger
Bachelor student in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology @ University of Bern (2020)

Giarita Ferraro
Guest PhD student @ FSU Jena – University of Naples, Italy. In cooperation with Prof. Wolfgang Weigand @ FSU Jena (2017)

Bianca Fiedler
Trainee @ FSU Jena (2017)

Adelina Mustafa

Master student in Pharmacy @ University of Bern (2021)

Dr. Florian Weber

Ph.D. student @ FSU Jena and @ University of Bern (till 2020)

Dr. Lorine Brülisauer
Postdoc @ FSU Jena (2017)

Elsie Quansah
Master student @ Abbe School of Photonics Jena, in cooperation with Prof. Popp, IPHT, Leibniz Institute Jena (2017)

Ala’a Malouhie
Trainee @ FSU Jena (2017)

Tobias Fischer
Diploma student in Pharmacy @ FSU Jena (2017)

Rosanne Marxer

Master student in Pharmacy @ University of Bern (2021)

Dr. Lisa Rahnfeld

Ph.D. student @ FSU Jena and @ University of Bern (till 2020)

Dr. Andjelka Kovacevic
Postdoc @ FSU Jena (till 2019)

Chengang Shen
Bachelor student @ FSU Jena – Wuhan University. In collaboration with Prof. Kalina Peneva @ FSU Jena (2016)

Federica Novelli
Guest PhD student @ FSU Jena – University of Rome (2017)

Mareike Adler
Trainee @ FSU Jena (2016)

Maria Patschin
Intern @ Ernst Abbe Hochschule Jena (2016)

Sara Lusa
Guest PhD student @ FSU Jena – University of Naples, Italy (2016)

Simone Aleandri

Senior scientist

PhD, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Since the beginning of my studies, I have been interested in working at the interface of chemistry and biology. Through the years, I investigated the biophysical characteristics of bio-membrane; their interaction with drugs, proteins, and fluorescent probes. I had the chance to characterize lipid formulations for different purposes and use them as drug carriers systems. My research is now focused predominantly on the development of a lipid based gel delivery systems. These materials exhibit a unique combination of properties: they are biocompatible and able to entrap molecules of various polarities and sizes; they have a soft-gel consistency that enables them to act as depot and thus enhance the epithelium drug permeability achieving exquisite spatial, temporal and dosage control when administered topically or subcutaneously.

https://publons.com/researcher/3189516/simone-aleandri

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simone_Aleandri2

Gregor Bordon

PhD student

M.Sc. in Industrial Pharmacy & B.E. in Chemical Technology at University of Ljubljana

By transplanting composite grafts such as faces or limbs, vascularised composite transplantation (VCA) has a potential to radically improve patients’ lives. A major challenge is the need for life-long systemic immunomodulatory therapy for these patients, which leads to their shorter life expectancy. My research focuses on building depot delivery systems that bring the drug in the right doses where it’s needed, without doing harm to the other parts of the body. Using biocompatible phospholipids and gels to build these delivery systems, the VCA patients could live longer and with less frequent drug administration.

Ivo Skorup

PhD student

M. Sc. In Pharmacy, University of Trieste, Italy

M.Sc. in Neuroscience, University of Trieste, Italy

Sarah Teworte

PhD student

M. Eng. (Hons) Chemical Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

 

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that is estimated to affect around one in ten women of reproductive age. It is characterized by scarring and fibrosis of reproductive organs and surrounding tissue. Despite endometriosis being common, there are few treatment options available. In line with internationally recognized priorities for endometriosis research, our motivation is to develop a treatment that prevents the growth and proliferation of endometriotic lesions.

Assumpta Widak

Ph.D. student in Pharmaceutical Technology

Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences

University of Bern, Switzerland

Remo Eugster

PhD student

MSc in Drug Discovery and Development, University of Vienna, Austria, AT

BSc in Life Science Technology – Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, CH

 

The development of lipid-based depot formulations for subcutaneous administration is driven by patient needs. Injectable depot formulations can overcome drawbacks of conventional subcutaneous drug delivery. By local deposition of the delivery system, the immediate systemic exposure can be limited. Further, the frequency of administration can be reduced, due to the sustained release properties of the lipid-based formulation. Developing drug delivery systems for sustained release provides me with the opportunity to help solving complex health problems in a patient centric manner. 

LinkedIn: Remo Eugster

Rafaela Gazzi

PhD student in Pharmaceutical Technology

MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Our research has the aim to develop drug delivery systems based on lipidic mesophases for topical applications. Lipidic mesophases are constituted of molecules derived from fatty acids that self-assemble in different geometries upon hydration. These systems share characteristics of both crystals and liquids, which provide them with unique rheological properties.
Besides their controlled release properties, lipidic mesophase systems can incorporate molecules of different polarity and size and protect these molecules from physical and chemical degradation, making them advantageous delivery systems.