PHARMAMEET2024

Dr. Steven Deak is a vascular and general surgeon who practices at the Deak Vein NJ Clinic with an emphasis on the treatment of venous diseases. He has been in private practice for over 35 years specializing in vascular and general surgery. Dr. Deak has a Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology from the University of Kentucky. He is a member of the American Venous Forum and the American College of Phlebology. He is interested in the biology of lymphatic and venous circulation and new techniques for the treatment of varicose veins. He graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. (Biology) and M.S. (Physiology). He received his M.D. and Ph.D. (Pharmacology) degrees from the University of Kentucky. He received his surgical and vascular training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson University Medical School. Dr. Deak is certified by the American Board of Surgery in the specialty of General Surgery. He is certified by the American Board of Phlebology. He is also certified as having Added Qualifications in General Vascular Surgery. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the Society of Vascular Surgery, the American Venous Forum, the American College of Phlebology, the Hungarian Medical Association of America, and the International Society for Vascular Surgery.

Prof.. Sikka is the Director of the Andrology Clinic/Research Laboratories at Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, USA where he has worked for the past 34 years. He received his B.Sc. & M.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry from the Panjab University and his Ph.D. (1978) in Pharmacology from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. He completed his two postdoctoral fellowships at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India, and at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California, USA (1982). He then joined as Assistant Prof (adjunct) and the Director of Urology/Andrology Research Lab at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in California, USA. In December 1988, Dr. Sikka joined as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, (NOLA) USA, where he developed an Andrology research program and CLIAcertified Andrology clinical laboratory for diagnostics application of male infertility and sexual dysfunction patients. In 1994, he was promoted to tenured Associate Professor and then full Professor of Urology at Tulane University, NOLA. In 1999, Dr. Sikka set up a unique state-of-the-art standardized semen analysis (SA) training program with quality control management to cater to the needs of many pharmaceutical companies for their multicenter male reproductive toxicity studies as per the FDA guidelines. Since then, Dr. Sikka has taught, trained, and certified more than 1,100 technicians across the globe to carry out these reproductive toxicity studies. He has demonstrated & taught these standardized techniques at many national and international Andrology workshops. Dr. Sikka’s current research interests center around understanding the role of oxidative stress and genitourinary inflammation related to such urological disorders employing many technologically advanced cellular and molecular tools. His lab has trained many students, residents & fellows. He has published more than 220 peer-reviewed articles, many book chapters, and numerous abstracts. He recently edited a book entitled, “Bioenvironmental Issues Affecting Male Reproductive & Sexual Health”. He has also served as a Study Section reviewer for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies in this area of male reproductive toxicology. His presentations delivered in these areas at many national and international meetings including a recent one at an Indian Science Congress are well acknowledged.

Dayong Wang is a professor at Hainan University's School of Pharmacy, the principal investigator of the biotechnological pharmacy and molecular pharmacology team of the Research Center of Hainan University's One Health Collaborative Innovation Center, the secretary of the Party branch and vice president of the Hainan Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Wang is primarily interested in basic and applied biological medicine research. In terms of basic research, he is primarily interested in the role of the B2 receptor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In terms of applied research, he is primarily involved in the development of new biopharmaceuticals through molecular docking, molecular dynamics, gene, and protein engineering, and pharmacology, for example, transgenic expression of human albumin in plants, aggregation inhibitors of Alzheimer's disease marker protein amyloid β peptides, and display of viral antigen domains on the bacterial surface.

Professor Richardson holds the Alan Mackay-Sim Distinguished Chair of Cancer Cell Biology at Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, and I am a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia Senior Principal Research Fellow. He is a multi-disciplinary medicinal chemist/biochemist/pharmacologist whose career has spanned metabolism, medicinal chemistry, drug design/development /commercialization, cancer biology, and neurobiology. Professor Richardson has published 460 articles, reviews, patents, chapters, etc., over his career with >93% as first, senior, or corresponding author (H-index: 100; >43,000 citations over entire career; Google Scholar 12/1/22; with >18,500 citations over the past 5 years and H-index of 60 over the past 5 years; Google Scholar 12/1/22). Recently, he was awarded the international Otto Krayer Award in Pharmacology 2022 from the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Professor Richardson is the Executive Editor of BBA-General Subjects and has served on the Ed. Boards of 49 journals, including JBC, Antioxidants Redox Signaling, and Biochem. J., Free Rad. Biology Med., Pharmacol. Res., J. Clin. Pathology (Assoc. Ed.), Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biology, BBA-Mol. Cell. Res., Mol. Pharmacol., Pharmacol. Res., Cancers, etc. As a major translational research achievement, he developed the anti-cancer and anti-metastatic drug, DpC, which overcomes P-glycoprotein-mediated resistance and up-regulates the potent metastasis suppressor, NDRG1. This has led to the commercialization of DpC and the international company, Oncochel Therapeutics LLC, USA, and its Australian subsidiary, Oncochel Therapeutics Pty Ltd. DpC entered multi-centre Phase I clinical trials for advanced and resistant cancer. These anti-cancer drugs target the lysosome via the P-glycoprotein transporter.

Dr. Sean Hall founded Medlab in August 2012. Sean has over 20 years of experience in nutraceutical sales and development, as well as early drug discovery in Australia, Asia, and the US. Sean has led and inspired his teams to author multiple patents, write peer-reviewed articles and deliver lectures at global scientific conferences. His passion is leading his researchers into novel areas and strong commercialization opportunities. Sean is also an active member of Medicines Australia, Research Australia, AusBiotech, American Federation of Medical Research (AFMR), The American Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine (A4M), World Medical Associated (WMA), and Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA).

Dr. Gradimir Dimitrijevic has 30 years of experience in transfusion medicine, most of the time as an expert in clinical transfusion but with very good experience in therapeutic apheresis and donor apheresis, as well as, blood component therapy. From a few years ago introduced irradiation of blood components in Serbia, in Novi Sad, and most of the blood components that are irradiated are for oncology, and hematology, in adults and children. He is more than 15 years dealing with Siberian natural products, some Chinese, one African, and one South American. All are extremely effective and helpful. This is his experience in all this together.

Mufeed J. Ewadh has expertise in many fields of biochemistry research in his institute dealing with health problem, herbal extraction, alternative medicine . He participated in many international and local conferences and workshops which deal with improvement of biochemical research to increase people awareness about its role. He participated in a post-doctorate course at Marburg University (Germany) in 2005, and he participated in the electrophoresis workshop in japan for two weeks as well as in the biochemical workshop in Leipzig (Germany) / in 2016.His postgraduate supervision deals with many graduate students (M.Sc. and Ph.D.)Which focuses on publishing more than 140 papers in different local and international journals. His interest in publishing research papers made his institute nominate him as the best professor for two years (2003),(2009). He is the chief editor of the most famous journal in Iraq (Medical Journal of Babylon ) and he got many rewards during his scientific life.

Professor Dr. Mohammad Kamil, M.Sc.; M.Phil.; Ph.D.; D.Sc.; Chartered Chemist(U.K.) and Fellow Royal Society of Chemistry (London), worked in various capacities, such as In-charge -Drug Standardization lab. CCRUM, Ministry of Health -India, Professor at Hamdard University, India; Professor & Head Department of Pharmacognostic Science, Zayed Complex for Herbal Research & Traditional. Medicine(ZCHRTM), Ministry of Health, UAE (1996-2010); Head TCAM Research at ZCHRTM, Department of Health(DOH)Abu Dhabi (2010-2020), presently working as Director General, Lotus Holistic Healthcare Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE since March’2021. He is a recipient of many prestigious honors & awards. He has more than seventy research papers exclusively on Unani medicines. He has been associated with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the revision of the Benchmark for International Standards of Unani Medicine Terminology and Training of Unani Medicine, as its drafting expert and their subsequent reviews. Recently he has been assigned to support WHO in translating a document from Arabic to English under an Agreement for the performance of work (APW). Honorary Trustee of International Unani Forum, India October 2022 to March 2025. Membership of IAUAM, Honorary member of the International Association for Unani Medicine (IAUM)by the Faculty of Eastern Medicine, Karachi,19th December 2022; Conferred upon Aqs-eMohar –Nabwi, Hamdard University Karachi,19th Dec 2022. Dr. Kamil produced 20 Ph.D. and M.Phil. students besides a large number of M.Sc. Project theses and 40 Interns. More than 600 research papers in reputed journals & presentations at international conferences are at his credit, chaired a no. of scientific sessions, delivered talks as plenary, and invited speakers at various International Conferences. Associated with the publication of many books; authored six books and seven chapters in different books.

Dr. Jimenez is a Professor of Surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is an expert in all areas of vascular surgery and has clinical and research interests in the management of complex venous diseases. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of California at Berkeley and his Medical doctorate from the University of California at Irvine. He also obtained an MBA degree from the University of California at Los Angeles Anderson School of Management. Dr. Jimenez is double Board-Certified in both Surgery and Vascular Surgery. He is the Director of the Gonda Venous Center at UCLA and the Co-Medical Director of the UCLA Hyperbaric Medicine department. Dr. Jimenez serves as the Vice Chair for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He has edited three international textbooks on Vascular Surgery and has published over 100 combined peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Jimenez is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Society for Vascular Surgery, the Western Vascular Society, the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, and the Society of University Surgeons. He serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Vascular Surgery and Annals of Vascular Surgery.

Carmela Saturnino is an associate professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Basilicata, Italy. She was the Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Industry-Servier in Paris and later at the University of Caen, France. She is the co-author of 112 publications and 6 Patents. Her research interest is in Carbazoles, Metalocines, Pyrazoles, Suzuki reaction, design, synthesis, and biological studies and understanding of the mechanisms of action of new therapeutic molecules for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and antimicrobial agents

Dr. Mangalagiu is a professor of organic and medicinal chemistry and Vice-Rector with research at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Romania. Previously, prof. Mangalagiu served as Dean, Vice-Dean, Head of the Organic Chemistry Department, etc. at the Faculty of Chemistry. He has nearly 30 years of experience in research, focused on the area of Heterocycles Compounds. He has over 200 papers, 15 patents, 6 international chapter books, etc. He was Visiting Professor and/or invited speaker to prestigious foreign universities (Ludwig Maximilianus University Munchen, Technische Universität Braunschweig, University of Florence, Universite D’Angers, University of Viena), awarded with numerous prizes and honors: DAAD and NATO award, Costin D. Nenitescu Medal (Romanian Society of Chemistry), the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi Award in Research, Grand Prize Euroinvent (Euroinvent, Romania), Special Award of Croatian Association of Inventors, etc.

Vakhtang Barbakadze has his expertise in isolation and structure elucidation of a new series of plant polyethers, which are endowed with pharmacological properties such as immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,wound-healing, and anticancer agents. Besides, he is interested in enantioselective synthesis and biological activities of a basic monomeric moiety of these polyethers, synthesis of enantiomerically pure epoxides as chiral building blocks for the production of synthetic analogs of natural polyethers by chemical and enzymatic catalysis. He received a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and DSci degree in Biology in 1978 and 1999 from the Institute of Organic Chemistry, Moscow, Russia, and the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotech¬nology, Tbilisi, Georgia, respectively. He is Head of the Department of Plant Biopolymers and Chemical Modification of Natural Compounds at Tbilisi State Medical University I.Kutateladze Ins¬titute of Pharmacochemistry. In 1996 and 2002 he has been a visiting scientist at Utrecht University, Departments of Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Chemistry, Utrecht, The Netherlands, by University Scholarship and The Netherlands organization for scientific research (NWO) Scholarship Scientific Program, respectively. He is also an organizing committee member and renowned speaker for many reputed scientific conferences. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals. In 2004 he was the Georgian State Prize Winner in Science and Technology. 1 Patent P 2012 5391 B (Patents for inventions, NATIONAL IN¬TELLECTUAL PROPERTY CENTER OF GEORGIA SAKPATENTI).

Claudia Andrea Lima Cardoso has a degree in Chemistry from UFMS, a Master, and a Doctorate in Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry of Araraquara - UNESP. She is a Professor at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul. She has Experienced in the areas of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Technology, and Health Sciences. Research with an emphasis on chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques applied to the analysis of samples of the plant, animal, and environmental origins and in the evaluation of the biological potential for the development of products. She has published over 300 scientific articles. Ex-Scientific Director of the Mato Grosso do Sul Development, Teaching, Science and Technology Support Foundation (FUNDECT-MS) and ex-member of the Superior Council of FUNDECT-MS. President of Academic Programs of Chamber III (Engineering, Technology, and Management) of the Interdisciplinary Area of CAPES. Reviewer of manuscripts for international and national journals, member of the editorial board, and ad hoc consultant in funding agencies. In 2021, she received the 1st place award in the Outstanding Researcher category – Exact Sciences at FUNDECT-MS.

Dr. Ravi P. Sahu completed his Ph.D. at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, India. He then pursued his postdoctoral studies in 3 different US universities, including Indiana University School of Medicine. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. His lab has been focused on determining the mechanisms by which oxidized lipids and platelet-activating factors (PAF) impact cancer growth and the efficacy of therapeutic agents. He has published over 70 articles and serves as an Editorial Board Member and Reviewer for several scientific journals.

Doctor Antonio Steardo specialized in Pharmacology and graduated in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He has now gained years of experience since 2002 in the pharmaceutical products trade sector as he could have been behind the counter of the Steardo pharmacy from an early age. Already in elementary school, his personal curiosity for chemistry manifests itself during his games and continues lectures at the department of science at the University of Salerno. Therefore, during the cycle of studies, he prefers biochemistry and biochemistry of drug action, graduating in July 2007 with a thesis on the functioning of the endocannabinoid system on Alzheimer’s disease in pharmacology. Following the beginning of his pharmaceutical chemistry studies, he stopped for a competition as a postgraduate in pharmacology at the University of Rome La Sapienza in July 2014. Expecting constant improvement as a professional update, he enrolled in the continuing professional training department at the University of Oxford to follow courses in Experimental and Translation Therapy and Medical Research. His desire to improve leads him to attend international conferences and seminars.

Fernando M. Pimentel-Santos is a Professor of Medicine/Rheumatology of the Integrated Master in Human Medicine at NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon; - Rheumatologist in the CHLO, Egas Moniz Hospital, Rheumatology Department, Lisboa, Portugal; Head of Spondyloarthropathies Clinics and Coordinator of MultidisciplinaryRheumatology/Dermatology and Rheumatology/Ophthalmology clinics; - Principal Investigator at the NOVA Medical Research, NOVA Medical school- Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NMR, NMS-UNL), Rheumatic Diseases Group; he is conducting several research projects using -omic approaches to identify novel biomarkers associated with axSpA. He aims to contribute to an early diagnosis, create evidence for the muscle role in axSpA susceptibility/progression and precision therapy approach; - Elected President for the Portuguese Society of Rheumatology (SPR) 2025-2027; - Ex-Coordinator of the Portuguese Spondyloarthritis Study Group (GESPA), Portuguese Society of Rheumatology (SPR); He has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals indexed in PubMed/Medline. He has been invited as a referee for several journals (e.g. Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, Arthritis and Rheumatism, Arthritis Research Therapy, Acta Reumatológica Portuguesa, and others).

Ana I. Faustino holds a Master's in Veterinary Medicine and a European Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences. She is a Professor and Researcher at the University of Évora and CITAB/UTAD, respectively. Animal models of cancer, tumoral angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, and imaging are her main areas of interest. She has collaborated in several Financed Research projects. The results of her works were published in more than 250 publications in several formats. She received several prizes of scientific merit, and highlights and press honors. She has experience in supervising graduate and post-graduate students. She participated in several courses, workshops, and international and national meetings. She is an editorial member of several scientific journals and collaborated as a reviewer of more than 200 manuscripts. She is the Guest Editor of special issues in Veterinary Animals and Life.

Ali Alamri, Assistant Professor, and Lecturer Pharmaceutics, Formulation, and Drug Delivery in the college of Pharmacy at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. He got his Master's degree in Pharmaceutics and drug delivery at MCPHS University, United States, in 2016. In 2021, He received his Ph.D. degree in pharmaceutics and drug delivery at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. The focus of his Ph.D. studies was the " development of single or combined drug-loaded PLGA nanoparticles for the treatment of glioblastoma"; he has published many papers in drug delivery systems and various topics related to the pharmaceutical sciences field.

Huang Wei Ling was born in Taiwan, raised and graduated in medicine in Brazil, a specialist in infectious and parasitic diseases, a General Practitioner, and a Parenteral and Enteral Medical Nutrition Therapist. Once in charge of the Hospital Infection Control Service of the City of Franca’s General Hospital, she was responsible for the control of all prescribed antimicrobial medication and received an award for the best paper presented at the Brazilian Hospital Infection Control Congress in 1998. Since 1997, she works with the approach and treatment of all chronic diseases in a holistic way, with treatment guided through the teachings of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hippocrates. Researcher at the University of São Paulo, in the Ophthalmology department from 2012 to 2013.Author of the theory Constitutional Homeopathy of the Five Elements Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. Author of more than 100 publications about the treatment of a variety of diseases rebalancing the internal energy using Hippocrates' thoughts.

Dr. Jufan Zhang, Assistant Professor, and Lecturer in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Principal Investigator in Centre of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology, University College Dublin, Ireland. He does research on the design and fabrication of transdermal drug delivery devices, such as 3D structured hollow microneedles, dissolving microneedles, and solid microneedles. His research interest also includes the manufacturing of solid-state nanopore array and corresponding biomedical applications, AR optical system design, manufacturing of micro-textured bio-implants, etc. He has chaired 10+ research funding and made 50+ peer-reviewed publications and 7 patents. He is a Member of the Irish Manufacturing Council, a Member of the International Academy of Engineering and Technology, Member of the International Society for Nanomanufacturing. He is the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 8th International Conference on Nanomanufacturing and the 4th AET Symposium on ACSM and Digital Manufacturing.

Enkelejda Goci has studied Pharmacy at the University of Tirana, Albania and graduated “A Master of Science” in Pharmacy in 2003. She received her Ph.D. degree in 2014 at the University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania. The focus of her Ph.D. studies has been "The study of the factors that influence in bioavailability of topical drugs and evaluation of the drug delivery of these formulations" She has published and presented to many scientific researchers in the pharmaceutical sciences field. She is part of two active Cost Action projects as MC and Working Group member: - CA20119 - European andrology network– research coordination, education, and public awareness (ANDRONET) - CA21145 - European Network for diagnosis and treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections (EURESTOP) and has been also part MC member of the project: CA16205 - European Network on Understanding Gastrointestinal Absorption-related Processes (UNGAP)

Milena Veskovic MD is employed as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade in Serbia. She has 10 years of experience in her academic career. Milena Veskovic has finished her Ph.D. thesis in 2019 in the area of Physiological and Pharmaceutical Sciences through international supervision of her doctoral thesis „Cotutelle“, in collaboration with Antwerp University, Belgium, which was the first International doctorate at the Faculty of Medicine. She has expertise in hepatology research that include non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis, and metabolic syndrome. Additionally, she is recently widening the research area towards neurophysiology, including circadian misalignment, and mood and behavioral disorders. Milena Veskovic has an experience in international collaboration through the bilateral project related to neurological disorders financed by The Ministry of Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia and The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. DrVeskovic is an author of 21 publications indexed in the JCR list with 350 citations and a Hirsch index of 11.

I am currently acting as principal investigator on the project entitled: PepROBÔ titã conception: instructive three-phase carrier system for actives release. I have experience in protein/peptide purification, structural characterization of proteins/peptides, the kinetics of protein-ligand interaction and monitoring its conformation by circular dichroism and fluorescence, biological assays of proteins/peptides in cancer cell lines or hemostasis. Synthesis of ultrasmall gold nanoparticles with peptide ligands and their interaction with proteins Techniques I used to purify, characterize, and determine kinetic parameters of proteins: HPLC, mass spectrometer, dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism, isothermal titration calorimetry, surface plasmon resonance, stopped-flow, thermophoresis, fluorescence steady-state, lifetime, and anisotropy. With my experience in protein chemistry and its effect on biological models, I am able to study nonspecific interactions with blood proteins that can result in a number of adverse effects in vivo. Colloidal stability of proteins or nanoparticles-peptide will be compromised in the condition of agglomeration macromolecular? it can be studied, in vitro, by macromolecular crowding, for example, glycerol, dextran, and polyethylene glycol, and monitored by spectroscopic techniques.

Mohammad Yasin Mohammad obtained his BSc degree (Chemistry) in 2004 from the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan, MSc degree (Organic Chemistry) in 2008 from the University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan, and PhD degree (Medicinal Natural Product) in 2013 from H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi-75270, Pakistan. He is currently working as the head of Pharmacy Department and also an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Aqaba University of Technology, Aqaba, Jordan. His research interests are in Natural Products and Medicinal Chemistry. His future plan is to establish a research in the field of Natural Products and Drug Discovery. He wishes to contribute in raising standards of education and research in Jordan.