Caitriona O’Driscoll
Co-Director, CÚRAM
Drug Delivery
Caitriona O’Driscoll (University College Cork) specialises in research that is translational in nature and product driven. Her research is focused on the design, formulation and characterisation of biomimetics drug delivery systems incorporating the products of the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry such as peptide/protein type drugs and RNA. Biopharmaceuticals, including peptide/proteins and nucleic acids, are now approaching 50% of all new drugs in development. The focus of O’Driscoll’s research is the development of nano-sized delivery constructs which are robust enough to survive processing, are stable on storage and achieve cell /site specific delivery in vivo. Clinical targets under investigation are: Cancer, prostate cancer and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), Neurodegenerative disease, including Huntington’s disease, Gastrointestinal disease, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
She has successfully supervised numerous PhD and MSc theses, with her graduates pursuing careers across the pharmaceutical industry, academia, regulatory agencies, and healthcare services. Over the years, she has mentored a significant number of postdoctoral researchers and continues to actively supervise and mentor early-career scientists.
O’Driscoll is an editorial board member for the following journals; Eur J Pharm Sci; J Pharm. and Pharmacology; J Drug Delivery Sci & Tech., Pharm Nanotechnology and PloS ONE and previously for J. Pharm. Sci. She has sat on several Boards, including the Board of the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), 2011-15, re-appointed 2016-20, the Cork Cancer Research Centre 2013-16 and as a Council Member, Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, 2011-15. She is a grant reviewer for the Foundation for Science & Technology, Ministry for Education & Science, Portugal (FCT); IWT-Flanders, Agency for Innovation by Science & Technology, Belgium; Israel Sci Foundation; The Wellcome Trust; MRC (UK); Novo Nordisk Foundation, FWF-Austrian Science Fund, European Research Council Consolidator Grant and EU Innovative Medicines Initiative.
O’Driscoll is a prolific author of peer-reviewed publications, with the majority as senior author, in leading journals such as Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, Biotechnology Advances, Trends in Molecular Medicine, Journal of Controlled Release, and Biomaterials. Her work is widely cited, reflecting a strong and sustained impact in the field.
She has secured substantial research funding as Lead and Co-Applicant across a range of competitive grants and funding agencies.
Related Links
http://publish.ucc.ie/researchprofiles/C019/caitrionaodriscoll
