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Vito FoderàView profile

Professor

• Protein and Peptide Self-Assembly
• Biophysics of Protein-Membrane Interactions
• Drug Delivery Systems
• +5 more

Vito Foderà is Professor of Biophysics at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He leads a highly interdisciplinary research team working at the interface between physics, biology and pharmaceutical sciences. His laboratory, the Drug Delivery and Biophysics of Biopharmaceuticals group, focuses on understanding protein and peptide behavior to develop novel drug delivery systems and improve protein therapeutics. Professor Foderà received his PhD in Physics from the University of Palermo in 2009, followed by postdoctoral work at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. He joined the University of Copenhagen in 2009 and progressed from Research Associate to Assistant Professor (2014), Associate Professor (2016), and was promoted to Professor in June 2023. His research spans four main interconnected areas: Protein and Peptide Self-Assembly (since 2006), Biophysics of Protein-Membrane Interaction (since 2014), Biomaterials for Drug Delivery (since 2017), and Protein Particles in Drug Formulations (since 2018). He combines theoretical frameworks with experimental techniques including UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron scattering, and optical and electron microscopies. His work bridges fundamental biophysics with pharmaceutical applications, particularly in developing advanced materials for nanomedicine and understanding protein-related neurodegenerative diseases. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward understanding protein aggregation mechanisms, particularly insulin and α-lactalbumin systems, with increasing focus on pharmaceutical applications. His research integrates computational modeling with advanced experimental techniques to connect molecular-level interactions to macroscopic material properties. Key disciplines represented in his work include biophysics, structural biology, pharmaceutical sciences, and materials science, with growing emphasis on translational applications in drug delivery and protein formulation. Villum Young Investigator Award (2018-2025, 8.6 M DKK) Villum Young Investigator Plus Award (2023-2026, ~4 M DKK) Professor Foderà actively mentors a large research group including postdocs (Samuel Lenton, Mai Bay Stie, Marco Polimeni), PhD students (Kleopatra Kalouta, Xuedan Sun, Inna Brakti, Giorgia Puleo, Filippo Vitale, Xuezhi Zhou, Gabriele Lo Buglio), and numerous master's students. His research is supported by multiple significant grants including Villum Foundation awards, Novo Nordisk Foundation projects, China Scholarship Council funding, and industrial collaborations with Novo Nordisk A/S. His laboratory maintains strong connections with international collaborators in academia, large-scale facilities, and industry. The group is affiliated with CPHSAXS (Small Angle X-ray scattering facility), LINXS (Lund Institute of Advanced Neutron and X-ray Science), and ISBUC (Integrative Structural Biology at University of Copenhagen), providing access to advanced instrumentation and expertise.

• Protein formulation
• Biopharmaceutical stability
• Drug delivery systems
• +5 more

Lene Jørgensen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen since 2010. Previously, she served as Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutics and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen from 2005 to 2010. She holds a PhD degree from the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2004) and a Cand. Pharm. degree. Her educational background includes: PhD from the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2004) Cand. Pharm. degree Dr. Jørgensen's research focuses on the analysis of structure and stability of biomacromolecules in pharmaceutical processes and formulations. Her work examines how formulation affects protein stability and addresses regulatory aspects of protein product design and production. She specializes in protein formulation, drug delivery systems, and characterization techniques including FTIR, fluorescence, and dynamic light scattering. Her research has significant implications for developing stable biopharmaceutical products with proper functionality. Her publication record shows a consistent focus on protein and peptide stability in pharmaceutical formulations. Over the years, her research has evolved from fundamental studies on protein adsorption to more applied research on excipient selection for protein stabilization. Recent work emphasizes freeze-drying technologies and the chemical space of excipients for biopharmaceutical formulations. Her publications demonstrate expertise in bridging theoretical understanding with practical pharmaceutical development challenges, with several highly cited works including one with over 100 citations. Dr. Jørgensen actively supervises thesis projects for students in pharmacy, MPS, MIND and MRA programs. She teaches BA projects in Pharmacy and Master courses at MIND and/or MRA. Her academic service includes extensive peer review of manuscripts (30 instances mentioned) and various lecture and teaching activities both within and outside the university. Her research group focuses on pharmaceutical formulation science, particularly for biopharmaceuticals. The work involves characterization of protein behavior at interfaces, development of stable protein formulations, and investigation of novel excipients for biopharmaceutical delivery systems. Her research has practical applications as evidenced by being referenced in 72 patents, indicating significant industry impact.