Professor Dimitrios Lamprou (Ph.D. MBA) is a subject matter expert in Emerging Biopharmaceutical & Pharmaceutical Technologies. He is the Chair at United Kingdom and Ireland Controlled Release Society (UKICRS) and Chair (Founder) of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APS) Emerging Technologies Focus Group.

Dimitrios research focuses on three major areas using Emerging Technologies (e.g., 3D Printing, 4D Printing, Bioprinting, Electrospinning, Microfluidics, Lab-on-a-chip, and BioMEMS): nanoparticles for imaging & therapeutic applications, lab-on-a-chip & microfluidic devices, and implants for therapeutic delivery & tissue engineering.

Prior to his current appointment (Full Professor / Chair of Biofabrication and Advanced Manufacturing; May 2022 – Present), Dimitrios was Reader in Pharmaceutical Engineering (May 2018 – April 2022) at Queen's University Belfast (UK), Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics & Drug Delivery (Sep 2016 – Apr 2018) at University of Kent (UK), Lecturer B in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Aug 2012 – Aug 2016) and Postdoctoral Fellow in Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems (Oct 2009 – Jul 2012) at Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS) at University of Strathclyde (UK). Dimitrios was also Visiting Researcher (Sep 2016 – Aug 2020) at University of Strathclyde (UK), Visiting Scientist at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece; Department of Pharmaceutical Technology) in 2011, and Visiting Scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Center for Biomedical Engineering; US) in 2010.

Dimitrios, has experience of teaching in Higher Education in UK, including experience in MPharm & Master courses accreditations, and in preparing 2 de novo Master's degree programmes in 2 top UK institutions. Has secure as Co-I or PI, National (e.g., EPSRC, SULSA) and International (e.g., HORIZON 2020, Commonwealth) Funding, in excess of £2.5M, and is currently involved in a variety of industrial projects (e.g., AZ, Janssen) and collaborates with academic partners and clinicians within the UK and internationally. He has an extended experience working with leading pharmaceutical, biological and cosmetics companies.

Dimitrios, is the author of more than 130 peer-reviewed publications (including in Chem - IF 25.832 & in Nature Nanotechnology - IF 40.523), has over 350 conference abstracts, and has given over 130 Invited Talks at International Conferences and Universities. Dimitrios has experience as PI & Co-I in supervising Post-Doc's, over 100 Undergraduate and Postgraduate Project students (e.g., Erasmus, BSc, MChem, MPharm, MPhil, MRes, MSc) and over 25 Ph.D. & EngD. students to successful completion (< 4 years), all of whom are now further developing their careers in either Academic or Industrial positions.

Journals & Publishers Referee: 50+ journals (IF 4 to 20) and book publishers (e.g., Elsevier, Wiley).

Research Funding Referee: 20+, nationally (e.g., EPSRC, MRC, UKRI) and internationally (e.g., Hungary, Italy), and peer-review for EU / QUB / UKRI, and regularly sits in EPSRC board panels. 

Editorial Work: Section Editor for Heliyon (Pharmaceutical Science, Pharmacology and Toxicology), Associate Editor at Frontiers in Medical Technology (Nano-Based Drug Delivery), Editor for Topical Collection in Pharmaceutics (3D Printing and Bioprinting Applications in Pharmaceutics), Guest Editor for 20+ Special Issues in International Refereed Journals (e.g., International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Polymers) and Editorial Board Member for 5+ Refereed Journals.

External Leadership:  Committee Member of the Bio-Effective Surface Treatment (BEST​) - Advisory Group, Committee Member of the British Standards Institute (BSI) AMT/8 for Additive Manufacturing, External Examiner in Pharmaceutics for UG courses at Newcastle University (UK), External Examiner at MSc Pharmaceutical Industry Advanced Training (PIAT) at University of Manchester (UK); PhD Programme Board at University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy); member of the External Evaluation Committee (EEC) for the evaluation & accreditation process for UG & PGT courses at Cyprus Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education, member of the evaluation panel(s) for the Election and Promotion of Faculty members in Greek Institutions, Viva Voce Postgraduate Examiner for PGR programmes (6 MRes and 26 Ph.D.) for National & International Institutions, and Invited Professor at Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree “Nanomedicine for Drug Delivery” (NANOMED) at University of Pavia (Italy; Oct 2018 – Present). Dimitrios also serves on numerous conference committees and scientific panels.

Example of Awards: Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Science Award and Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) Leaders Scheme Award.

Academic / Professional Qualifications: Dimitrios was trained in multi-disciplinary areas and in first class laboratories (e.g., in Greece, UK, USA). He received Bachelor of Engineering (BEng Hons) degree in Medical Engineering from the University of Bradford (UK) working on the Modelling of Flow and Diffusion in a Dialysis Process, and Master's in Biomedical Engineering from the University Of Surrey (UK) working on Tissue Engineered Vascular Grafts. Has a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Bio-Surface Chemistry (Ph.D. Thesis Viva took place in Nov 2009) in a collaborative project between the University of Portsmouth (UK) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) - Porton Down (UK), by working in areas such as biomaterials, bioadhesion and drug delivery. Also holds Certificate (Cert) in Computing (with experience in chemometrics using PCA/PLS and other multivariate approaches), Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) in Scientific Research Methods for Laboratory Scientists from the University of Portsmouth (UK), Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) in Advanced Academic Studies (Educational degree) from the University of Strathclyde (UK), and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Middlesex University (UK). Dimitrios has also participated in numerous workshops, seminars and courses about entrepreneurship, finances, leadership, management (including Pharma Mini MBA), marketing, teaching (including improving/developing online teaching), and has gain advance experience in a range of research techniques.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: Public engagement is an important and essential activity for our research lab members. Sharing our research work with the public who fund it and the wider world is a crucial part of our mission. Our Lab is very active, participating in a variety of public engagement opportunities, such as School Visits, Café Scientifique, Pint of Science, Science Festivals, Researcher in Residence Programme, University Open Days, and by organising fundraising events, public lectures and workshops. 

Responding to the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other items: In March 2020, our team quickly responded to the shortage of PPE, by coming up with a pioneering programme. We used our 3D printing facility to manufacture different items for the NHS and frontline professionals (e.g., face-shields, "No-touch" hand tools, microplate holders, mask extenders). This rapid response then encouraged other schools and institutions (nationally and internationally) to follow suit. Moreover, the PI transferred the design knowledge to the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, so these items could be produced in a continuous process. This generated a lot of positive reputational coverage (e.g., BBC Radio Ulster, Sky News, RTÉ News, Belfast Telegraph, Newspapers in Greece & Italy). 

Applying Nano & Microfabrication Techniques in the Manufacturing of Drug Delivery Systems, Medical Devices and Implants

The Lamprou Lab is emerging new materials and manufacturing techniques, in order to address the challenges associated with the manufacture of pharmaceutical systems that will teach new tricks to old drugs and on the development of new personalised medical devices and implants. The current research hot-topics / themes in the lab, include:

1) Additive Manufacturing (AM): a) Manufacturing of novel drug delivery systems & medical devices (e.g., catheters, drug eluting vascular grafts, implants for long-acting drug delivery, surgical meshes, microneedles, oral dosage forms) using innovative 3D printing technologies. b) 3D Bioprinting applications in pharmaceutics and tissue engineering (e.g., arterial regeneration, bioresorbable vascular scaffolds, cardiac patches, wound healing). c) 4D printing systems for the manufacturing of scaffolds, implants, and targeted drug delivery systems. d) Bioinks & Filaments: In-house prepared Bio-inks using natural or synthetic polymers, and preparation of drug-loaded or empty filaments by hot-melt extrusion (HME).

The implantable medical devices that manufactured / designed in our lab, can be used for the delivery of a variety of molecules for the treatment of diversity of diseases, such Cardiovascular, Cancer (e.g., Breast, Prostate), Diabetes, Gynaecological, Ocular, and Parkinson’s, among many others.

For more information about our extensive work in Additive Manufacturing, please visit the 3D Printing & Bioprinting Lab. 

Our Lab, has been recognised as world leaders in Printing, with PubMed-based algorithms placed us in the top 0.1% of scholars in the world writing about Printing. 

2) Electrohydrodynamic Processes: a) Manufacturing of medical nanofibers by electrospinning (melt or solution) for a variety of drug delivery and tissue engineering applications (e.g., cardiac patches, long-acting implantable devices, oral films, solid dispersions, surgical mesh implants, wound healing). b) Electrospray: coating of implants (e.g., stents) or preparation of microparticles. 

3) Microfluidics & Lab-on-a-chip Devices: a) Manufacturing of Polymer (e.g., PLGA) & lipid-based (e.g., liposomes, Solid lipid nanoparticles, niosomes) Nanomedicines using microfluidics and comparison with traditional formulation methods (e.g., extrusion, thin-film hydration) for imaging or treatment or targeting using new or currently available drugs & biologics; including surface modification for cancer treatment/targeting. b) In-house fabrication of microfluidic chips (including Lab-on-a-chip) for Pharmaceutical Applications (e.g., Drug Delivery, Drug Screening) by 3D printing and soft photolithography.

PubMed-based algorithms placed us in the top 5 labs in UK in the area of Microfluidics. 

4) Our studies include: a) From formulation to in vivo analysis: Formulation, physicochemical characterization, computational modelling (e.g. Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)), and in vitro, ex vivo & in vivo evaluation. b) Implementation of concepts such as Scaling-up, Continuous Manufacturing, Quality by Design (QbD) & Process Analytical Technology (PAT; e.g., NIR, MiR, Raman, and UV probes). c) Machine Learning /  Artificial Intelligence: variety of methods in Additive Manufacturing and Microfluidics. d) Advanced Characterisation: Use of state-of-the-art Nanocharacterisation techniques (e.g., AFM, μCT, ToF-SIMS, XPS). e) Sustainability & Supply-Chain: The lab is a Sustainable Lab and has received the Sustainable Lab Awards Silver S-Lab & is engaged in the pilot lab sustainability program LEAF.

Dimitrios teaching responsibilities cover UG and PGT degree programmes in the School of Pharmacy in QUB and in CQC. Topics range from Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Emerging Technologies, Biomaterials, Biofabrication, Regulatory, to Project Management and Entrepreneurship.

Consistently sustained and enhanced the quality of learning opportunities within the School through effective student engagement and participation; this is evidenced by the high evaluation scores >4.5.

Dimitrios, is also mentor for staff, advising them on educational best practice and of how to develop scholarship in their roles, and is conducting peer reviews for colleagues to help with their development.

Undergraduate – Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) programme, BSc Pharmaceutical Sciences, BSc Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

• Drug Design and Pharmaceutical Analysis (2018/19)
• Industry: Quality, Regulation and Entrepreneurship (Since 2019)
• Personalised Medicine and Therapeutics (2018/19)
• Medicinal Substances: Characterisation and Quantification (2018/19)
• Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (NI) Prize for Best BSc Research Project: between 2019 and 2021, the lab offered BSc research projects, and each of these years, the prize awarded to Dimitrios Project students, Essyrose Mathew (2019), Zara-Louise Farmer (2020), Katie Glover (2021). Many congratulations! 

 Postgraduate – MSc Industrial Pharmaceutics

• Formulation of Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Products (2019/21)
• Leadership & Project Management (Since 2019)
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Emerging Technologies (Since 2019)
• Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs (Since 2019)
• MSc Research Project (Since 2019)

Undergraduate – Teaching support at China Queen's College (CQC)

• Industrial Biotechnology (2019)
• Quality Assurance & Regulatory Aspects of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (2019)

EU Programmes

• Intern Europe programme: Provide work experience to students.
• Erasmus+ traineeships: Supervising and hosting Bachelor, Master and Doctoral students.
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree “Nanomedicine for Drug Delivery” (NANOMED): Provide specialised teaching as Invited Professor.
• Joint international supervision of doctoral theses: Jointly supervised doctoral students with institutions in another EU member states (e.g., Italy, Poland).

• Programme Director (Founder) at MSc Industrial Pharmaceutics.
• MSc (Industrial Pharmaceutics) Module Co-ordinator (Founder): Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Emerging Technologies (20 CAT; 2019/21); Leadership & Project Management (20 CAT; Since 2019); MSc Research Projects (60 CAT; 2019/21); Industrial Placement Coordinator (since 2019) - also liaised with industries to ensure that the content and skills being taught on the MSc meets their needs in terms of skills and knowledge.

• Seminars Organiser: Organising/Chairing weekly MSc Industrial lunchtime seminars; 20+ speakers from 20+ Pharma and BioPharma industries, per year. 

• School of Pharmacy Committee Memberships: Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team (SAT; 2018/21 was leading the groups of Collegiality & Success and School Events & Outreach Activities); Education Committee; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee - 1 of the 3 School EDI Champions; Internationalisation Committee; Personal Development Reviewer (PDR); Research Excellence Framework (REF) Reading Group (evaluating all School REF submissions); Research Committee; School Board; Fire Warden.

• University Committee Memberships: Collaborative Provision Group (CPG) Panel; Panel Member of the Programme Evaluation Meetings (PEM) for New Programmes; EDI MHLS faculty committee; MHLS faculty Athena SWAN Working Group; University Racial Equity Co-Champion; PGT School Representative at University PGR & PGT Advisory Body.

• Personal Development Advisor (PDA; Counsellor; Personal Tutor) for Undergraduate and Postgraduate students.

• Peer Reviewer: Internal and external peer reviewer of grant applications for national and international Research Funding Bodies.

• Support: Assist the School in Career Events and Open Days (including creating new sessions, e.g., 3D printing).

• Mentoring & Supporting: Provide mentoring, support, direct, coach and develop academic staff, research fellows, technical staff, and Ph.D. Students in QUB and other institutions.

• Member of the MATCH interdisciplinary research initiative.

• Communication with the Public and Science Community: e.g., Blog, Twitter, Facebook, School visits, Café Scientifique, Pint of Science, Science Festivals, Researcher in Residence Programme, University Open Days, organising fundraising events, public lectures and workshops.

• Public Engagement Examples: Science Festival (e.g., present 3D-printing and the applications in Pharmaceutical Sciences); High School Café-Science Events (e.g., present hydrogels of different formats and we show examples of hydrogels in our life and as drug delivery systems); Public Lecture & Workshop (e.g., present to elderly, the preparation of tablets using traditional methods and 3D Printing); Organising fundraising events; Visiting Schools.

• Professional Registration Memberships: Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (APS) & Chair (Founder) of the APS Emerging Technologies Focus Group; American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP); Antibiotic Research UK (ANTRUK); Association of Biomedical Engineers, Medical Engineers and Bioengineers (BioMedEng Association); British Society for Nanomedicine (BSNM); Controlled Release Society (CRS) & Board Member at CRS Communications Group; UK BioIndustry Association (BiA); Chair at United Kingdom and Ireland Controlled Release Society (UKICRS); Native Scientist; Organ-on-a-chip Technologies Network.

• Conference Organiser: Active in organising virtual and face-to-face national and international conferences (e.g., APS, SPM, UKICRS), and chairing/organising sections in many other major conferences.

• Organising Fundraising Events: Organising annually events in the School of Pharmacy, such as the “International Women's Day” and the “International Men’s Day” fundraising events.

• Examples of Invited reviews of topical area of research: 3D Printing of Pharmaceuticals and Drug Delivery Devices (Pharmaceutics); How innovative drug delivery devices can help realise clinical utility of new effective therapies (Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery); On the issue of transparency and reproducibility in nanomedicine (Nature Nanotechnology); Characterization of drug delivery vehicles using atomic force microscopy: current status (Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery); 3D printing applications for transdermal drug delivery (International Journal of Pharmaceutics); Engineering and manufacturing of pharmaceutical co-crystals: a review of solvent-free manufacturing technologies (Chemical Communications).

• Examples of Single author publications: Emerging technologies for diagnostics and drug delivery in the fight against COVID-19 and other pandemics (Expert Review of Medical Devices); Emerging Technologies in the Delivery of Proteins and Peptides (BioProcess Online).