Welsh School of Pharmacy

Drug Delivery & Microbiology Research Discipline

Understanding the nature of biological barriers and developing advanced systems to improve the delivery of therapeutics

Understanding microbial survival strategies, microbial contamination of pharmaceutical products, control of microbial infection in healthcare environments

(Joint coordinators, James Birchall & Les Baillie )

Expertise includes: molecular imprinting; pharmaceutical engineering of therapeutic microneedles; technological & biological aspects of transcutaneous drug and gene delivery; technological & biological aspects of pulmonary drug and gene delivery; synthesis and exploitation of novel polymer systems; technological & biological aspects in the tissue and cellular trafficking of macromolecules; phage as a therapeutic and a display technology; bioimaging; quantitative analytical chemistry; particle characterisation; technological and biological aspects of the study of biocides, formulation preservation and biofilm formation; vaccine development.

Specialist facilities include: imaging and cytometry facilities, containment laboratories and suites for prokaryote and eukaryote investigations, cell and molecular biology resources, a dedicated ultra centrifuge suite, advanced chromatographic equipment, polymer chemistry equipment for synthesis and characterisation, and a GMP suite for clinical trial formulation .

Current research interests include:
- pulmonary drug delivery
- microneedle delivery of drugs and biologics
- stability of total parenteral nutrition admixtures
- molecular imprinting
- cell membrane penetration
- transdermal penetration of drugs
- interaction of microorganisms with pharmaceuticals
- antimicrobial mechanisms
- diagnostics for infectious agents, especially B.anthracis and Cl. difficile

Latest News

Welsh lichen could hold the key to new antibiotics

18/04/2013

Professor Les Baillie and his team feature on BBC News.

Professor Les Baillie speaks to BBC Sunday Politics Wales about antibiotic resistance

10/12/2012

Professor Les Baillie speaks to BBC Sunday Politics Wales about antibiotic resistance and his group's work in the Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Superbug research is just KESS’s cup of tea

19/07/2012

School of Pharmacy student William McCully wins prize for collaborative research in Wales

"Cardiff University in bee keepers' honey MRSA appeal" - Professor Les Baillie

06/03/2012

Professor Baillie's work on the DNA profiles of the nation's honey features on the BBC News.

Dr Jean-Yves Maillard presents the 7th annual Denver Russell memorial lecture

24/01/2012

Dr Maillard presented the 2012 Denver Russell Memorial lecture to the Winter Meeting of the Society for Applied Microbiology on 11th January at the Royal Society in London.

“Where will we find new antibacterial drugs? In honey?” – The Guardian article on Professor Les Baillie’s research.

26/07/2011

Prestigious E.U. grant for a consortium centred on the Welsh School of Pharmacy

27/01/2011

Wales-Ireland industry-academia partnership in smart drug delivery fits government vision and promises improved therapies.

Major Home Office research grant to support Anthrax research

Prof Les Baillie has been awarded £267,003 to evaluate the ability of environmentally friendly biocides to remediate anthrax spore contaminated environments.

Lovleen Tina Joshi (current PhD student) awarded a SfAM President's Fund travel grant

12/01/2011

to attend the 3^rd International Clostridium difficile Symposium in Bled, Slovenia, 22- 24^th September 2010

Callum Cooper (PhD 2007-2011) recipient of the Microbiology Communication Prize.

SGM's Microbiology Communication Prize is given to Callum Cooper, WSP Alumni (PhD 2007-2011).

Tuberculosis Research and Lecture visit to South Africa

Dr Arwyn Jones visited South Africa as part of a collaborative Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation research award to study new methods for targeting the Tuberculosis bacterium in macrophages.