The project team include multidisciplinary researchers who are leading experts in nanomedicine, environmental nanotoxicology and experimental pharmacology
We believe that nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize many industries, including healthcare, energy, and manufacturing. We are developing and commercializing innovative nanotechnology-based products and services that improve the lives of people around the world.
Project Objectives
- To increase the research activity in priority areas in Kosovo.
- To increase the collaboration between UP and leading European research institutions.
- To attain key equipment at UP enabling research in priority research areas.
- To train Kosovo researchers in essential research techniques related to priority areas.
- To train Kosovo researchers and administrative staff in research management and commercialisation.
- To increase the involvement and support from researchers from the Kosovo diaspora in UP research in priority areas.
- To strengthen the interaction between research and research users/stakeholders in priority areas.
- To increase student engagement in research (facilitating research-based learning and teaching).
Project Work Packages
WP1
Project management and coordination
WP2
Internships (of 3-6 months) for Kosovo researchers, including PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, and short visits of academic staff at European research institutions.
WP3
Visits to Kosovo of researchers from research institutions in EU, including from Kosovo Diaspora
WP4
Acquisition of research equipment for UP required for Action research activities in priority fields
WP5
Pure and applied research in priority fields
WP6
Supporting participation of Kosovo researchers at conferences/symposia/seminars in Europe
WP7
Workshops
WP8
Dissemination and outreach
Project team
Dr Driton Vllasaliu
Project Leader
Driton Vllasaliu is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King’s College London (KCL). His research focuses on the biological understanding of tissue barriers to inform the design of systems (particularly nanoparticles) for oral delivery of biologics. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in journals including Small and Journal of Controlled Release, with the majority as first or senior author. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He teaches biopharmaceutics within undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at KCL and is currently acting as Master of Pharmacy course director.
Vllasaliu has contributed significantly to oral delivery of biologics with nanoparticle drug carriers. He has reported a number of ‘firsts’ in the area, including epithelial nanoparticle delivery via the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). He has received ~£2M in research funding to date, primarily as Principal Investigator. One of Vllasaliu’s key research strengths is collaboration with industry to enable translation. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sanofi iAward Europe and has worked with AstraZeneca, Novartis and several smaller Biopharma companies.
Vllasaliu has contributed significantly to oral delivery of biologics with nanoparticle drug carriers. He has reported a number of ‘firsts’ in the area, including epithelial nanoparticle delivery via the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). He has received ~£2M in research funding to date, primarily as Principal Investigator. One of Vllasaliu’s key research strengths is collaboration with industry to enable translation. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sanofi iAward Europe and has worked with AstraZeneca, Novartis and several smaller Biopharma companies.
Dr Armond Daci
Project Coordinator for the University of Prishtina
Armond Dacj, Prof, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy. He teaches courses within PhD programs in preclinical and clinical medicine and serves as a Science Coordinator of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Prishtina, Hasan Prishtina, Kosovo. Areas of research interest are Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, and Pharmacogenetics. He has gained research experience during his PhD studies at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Department of Pharmacology and Biomolecular Science, University of Milan, University of Milan. Department of Pharmacology, Istanbul University, and recently Post Doc Fellowship at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University. He has contributed to national projects funded by MEST, and to international projects such as Erasmus Plus, SIGMA, TEMPUS, YTB, and Fulbright.
Dr Daci has actively participated in international conferences at home and abroad. He is an author of 27 indexed scientific papers, (cited 500 times, h-index 12) and serves as a reviewer for many indexed scientific journals. He was awarded Young Scientist of the Year from MEST, twice as best oral speaker and awarded for research based learning from QAINT and MEST project.. He is sharing his experience by actively serving as a member of the commission established by the Ministry of Health for the evaluation of medical products at the National Agency for Medical Products and also he was a member of the Review for the First Clinical Guideline "Management and Treatment COVID-19". He active coordinator from UP, in the project Nanoparticles in Environment and Medical Research" - EUROPEAID/173691/DD/ACT/XK (“Increasing Research Capacities in Kosovo”).
Dr Daci has actively participated in international conferences at home and abroad. He is an author of 27 indexed scientific papers, (cited 500 times, h-index 12) and serves as a reviewer for many indexed scientific journals. He was awarded Young Scientist of the Year from MEST, twice as best oral speaker and awarded for research based learning from QAINT and MEST project.. He is sharing his experience by actively serving as a member of the commission established by the Ministry of Health for the evaluation of medical products at the National Agency for Medical Products and also he was a member of the Review for the First Clinical Guideline "Management and Treatment COVID-19". He active coordinator from UP, in the project Nanoparticles in Environment and Medical Research" - EUROPEAID/173691/DD/ACT/XK (“Increasing Research Capacities in Kosovo”).
Dr Michele Miragoli
Project Coordinator for the University of Parma
Dr. Michele Miragoli is Associate Professor in Experimental and Applied Medical Technologies at the Department of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Parma, Italy. He is also a member of the Center of Excellence for Toxicological Research (CERT) and an associate researcher at the Humanitas Research Center in Milan, Italy. Furthermore, he currently holds the position of Honorary Research Associate at the Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR).
Dr. Miragoli is a cardiovascular researcher and Executive Member Committee of the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Research. He obtained his degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Parma and subsequently completed a Ph.D. program in Pathophysiology at the Institute of General Physiology, Parma.
Following his Ph.D., Dr. Miragoli spent six years at the Institute of Physiology, University of Bern, Switzerland, where he honed his skills in the technique of optical recording of impulse propagation. He focused on studying the cellular bases of cardiac arrhythmia and the role of cardiac myofibroblasts in their pathogenesis.
<brIn March 2008, Dr. Miragoli joined the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, where he combined hopping probe scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) with the optical recording of impulse propagation to study functional and structural cellular remodeling. This unique non-invasive system allowed him to investigate cardiac excitability at the nanoscale, opening up new avenues for cardiac nanomedicine and nanotechnology research.
Dr. Miragoli earned the Young Research Grant from the Ministry of Health in 2011, which enabled him to establish his research group at the University of Parma and take up the position of Junior Group Leader at the Humanitas Research Center in Milan. For more information please visit www.tecmedlab.unipr.it
Dr. Miragoli is a cardiovascular researcher and Executive Member Committee of the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Research. He obtained his degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Parma and subsequently completed a Ph.D. program in Pathophysiology at the Institute of General Physiology, Parma.
Following his Ph.D., Dr. Miragoli spent six years at the Institute of Physiology, University of Bern, Switzerland, where he honed his skills in the technique of optical recording of impulse propagation. He focused on studying the cellular bases of cardiac arrhythmia and the role of cardiac myofibroblasts in their pathogenesis.
<brIn March 2008, Dr. Miragoli joined the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, where he combined hopping probe scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) with the optical recording of impulse propagation to study functional and structural cellular remodeling. This unique non-invasive system allowed him to investigate cardiac excitability at the nanoscale, opening up new avenues for cardiac nanomedicine and nanotechnology research.
Dr. Miragoli earned the Young Research Grant from the Ministry of Health in 2011, which enabled him to establish his research group at the University of Parma and take up the position of Junior Group Leader at the Humanitas Research Center in Milan. For more information please visit www.tecmedlab.unipr.it
Professor G. Danilo Norata
Project Coordinator for the University of Milan
Giuseppe Danilo Norata, Prof, PhD, is Professor of Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences and Coordinator of the Doctorate School of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Milan, Italy. His research activity is devoted to the investigation of molecular mechanisms involved in vascular and cardiometabolic diseases and their connection with immunometabolism from a translational perspective. He coordinates the activities at the Laboratory of Lipoproteins, Atherosclerosis and Immunity at the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences in Milan and those of the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Genetics and Genomics at the Center for The Study of Atherosclerosis at the Bassini Hospital. He serves as Editor for Annals of Medicine and Associate Editor for Cardiovascular Research and for Atherosclerosis and published more than 220 papers in the field of cardiovascular and immunometabolic diseases. He is Chair of the EAS Congress Committee and Part of the Nucleus of the ATVB working group of the European Society of Cardiology.
Dr Giangiacomo Beretta
Project Coordinator for the University of Milan
Giangiacomo Beretta, Prof., MSc, PhD, is Associate professor at the Department of Environmental Science and policy of the University of Milan. After graduation in Chemistry in 2001, he completed his PhD studies in Cosmetic science and technology in 2007. During 2004/2005 he spent a twelve-month period as visiting scientist at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts. Currently, his research interest is based on the setup and of conventional and advanced instrumental methodologies for their application in scientific fields including pharmaceutical, environmental, and toxicological analysis as documented by his coauthoring of 90 studies on international scientific journals.
