Prof. Ryan F. Donnelly Queen's University Belfast, UK

Professor Ryan Donnelly is Chair in Pharmaceutical Technology and Director of Research at the School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast. A registered pharmacist, his work focuses on the design and characterisation of advanced polymeric drug delivery systems for transdermal and intradermal administration, with a strong emphasis on improving patient outcomes.... read moreHe is widely recognised for pioneering novel microneedle technologies, developed through both independent research and collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies.

Professor Donnelly has secured more than £30 million in research funding and authored over 1000 peer-reviewed outputs, including patent applications, textbooks, book chapters and numerous full papers. He leads a diverse research team of around 50 scientists from 15 countries and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international conferences. He also serves as Europe/Africa Editor of Drug Delivery & Translational Research.

His contributions have been recognised through multiple prestigious awards, including the Controlled Release Society Skin & Mucosal Delivery Focus Group Laureate of Honor Award (2025), the AAPS Pharmaceutical Research High Impact Manuscript Award (2025), the APV Research Award (2024), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Harrison Medal (2024), the Kydonieus Foundation Transdermal Delivery Award (2024), and earlier honours such as the Controlled Release Society Young Investigator Award (2016) and BBSRC Innovator of the Year (2013).