Dr. Kett's research interests lie in the development and characterisation of 

• freeze-dried and spray-dried formats for mucosal (nasal, inhaled, sublingual and vaginal) administration of material including  vaccine, antibiotic and HIV microbicides.
• mucosal delivery of nanoparticles encapsulating payloads such as antibiotics and vaccine

More fundamental research includes investigation into the mechanisms of protein protection during freeze-drying using thermal analysis techniques (DSC, MTDSC and isothermal microcalorimetry) as well as neutron scattering in collaboration with colleagues at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

She has also worked extensively in the use of thermal techniques to characterise amorphous systems and the detection of polymorphic transitions.

Dr. Kett was involved in the foundation of the Clinical Raman microscopy unit together with colleagues from the schools of chemistry and Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Science and has published on the use of this technique for the identification of polymorphic changes in pharmaceutical systems.
In 2002 she was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Thermal Methods Group Cyril Keattch award for “The Application of Thermoanalytical Techniques to the Study of the Freeze Drying Process”.

She works closely with colleagues across QUB on vaccine delivery for prevention of bacterial infection and inhaled antibiotics

Scroll down for details of current PhD availability
Open to PhD applications in the field of pharmaceutics, vaccine technology, mucosal and thermal analysis including amorphous and polymorphic systems.- Novel mucosal delivery of biofilm penetrating antibiotics- Vaccine delivery via mucosal routes- Novel spray-dried powders for delivery to the lung
 
Details of current PhD opportunities
Engineering Intranasal Nanoparticle Platforms for Targeted Drug Delivery Across the Ageing Blood–Brain Barrier
Split-site project with Aston University and led by Dr Lissette Sanchez Aranguren
https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/engineering-intranasal-nanoparticle-platforms-for-targeted-drug-delivery-across-the-ageing-blood-brain-barrier/?p185143
 (competitive funding details at link note deadline for applications 9th June 2025
 
Liposomal Antibiotic for Improved Treatment of Respiratory Infection (unfunded)Link to findaphd details https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/liposomal-antibiotic-for-improved-treatment-of-respiratory-infection/?p178281  
 
Vaccine-drying stabilisation strategies (unfunded)https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-research/phd-opportunities/vaccinedrying-stabilisation-strategies.html
 
For all PhD applicants
Postgraduate Research applicants must have applied to Queen’s, via the Direct Applications Portal. https://dap.qub.ac.uk/portal/user/u_login.php  Relevant links / more information  http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofPharmacy/Research/PostgraduatePositions/ http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofPharmacy/