My name is Umer Farooq and I am ESR 9. I will be working with Dr. Peter McLoughlin at Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland, on the development of topical formulation for the posterior segment of eye. I did my Bachelor’s degree in pharmacy (Pharm.D) from Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan. During my bachelor’s degree I got interested in novel drug delivery systems and decided to pursue a career in the field of drug delivery. I worked as Junior Lecturer at Riphah International University, Pakistan before starting my master’s degree in Nanomedicine for Drug delivery (NANOMED). I was awarded prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarship to pursue this degree which was jointly organized by a consortium of 4 European universities. I did a research traineeship at the Lab of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Patras, Greece under the supervision of Prof. Sophia Antimisiaris, where I studied encapsulation of drugs in conventional and hybrid liposomes. My second research internship, was in one of the highly reputed research labs of France; Translational Micro and Nanomedicines (MINT) Lab – INSERM 1066 / CNRS 6021,UNIV Angers. At MINT lab, I worked on EuroNanomed 3- Gliogel Project to develop a new generation of drug-loaded lipid nanocapsule hydrogel in order to achieve sustained and specific drug delivery against glioblastoma, under the supervision of Dr. Guillaume BASTIAT.

After completing my master’s I was looking for a PhD position which could not only help me potentiate my research and analytical skills but also provide me an insight of Industrial needs. ORBITAL had everything I was looking for. I am delighted to be a part of this community of both young and experienced researchers. I believe that the invaluable learnings which I will acquire during this time period will be highly beneficial for my personal and professional development.