Micro(nano)plastics in Organ Systems

Dr. Charan Singh is currently an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics at HNB Garhwal University (A Central University), Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India. He received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology (Formulation) from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), S.A.S. Nagar, Punjab, India. He was later a National Postdoc Fellow at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India and an IBRO-Exchange Fellow at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. He has received a number of other fellowships and awards such as the IBRO Early Career Award and the SERB-SIRE Fellowship. Dr. Singh’s research interests include the design, synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of lipidic and polymeric nanomaterials for drug delivery and targeting to improve the treatment and diagnosis of human diseases. Dr. Singh has one patent (granted) and has published book chapters and more than 50 publications in international journals such as Journal of Controlled Release, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Carbohydrate Polymers, Drug Delivery Sciences and Technology, International Journal of Pharmaceutics.

Dr. Arun Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy at Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, India. He earned a PhD from the Department of Pharmacy at Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Solan, India. He has more than 11 years of combined research and teaching experience, and his work focuses on smart and responsive materials, 3D printing, microneedles, extracellular-based drug delivery, antimicrobial compounds, and nanostructures for various biomedical applications, including tissue regeneration, drug delivery, and cancer therapy. He has actively collaborated with researchers in other disciplines of pharmaceutical sciences, particularly the nanoformulations of drugs for drug delivery systems and nanomedicine. His work has resulted in the publication of over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles in prestigious journals, including International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Advanced Healthcare Materials, Seminars in Cancer Biology, Journal of Material Chemistry B, and Bioengineering and Translational Medicines. He has also author over five book chapters and has files five patents filed.

Dhirendra Pratap Singh is currently a Scientist in Neurotoxicology and Immunotoxicology Laboratory of the ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, India. He earned PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Panjab University in Chandigarh and worked as a research fellow at the DBT-National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) in Mohali during his PhD, focusing on "cobiotics," a specialized combination of prebiotics and antioxidants intended for food-based applications and gut microbial modification to improve metabolic health. After a brief period as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, he joined ICMR-NIOH in Ahmedabad as a Scientist. His current research interests include: i) host-gut microflora interactions in neurobehavioral aberrations related to heavy metal toxicity, ii) the development of cost-effective diagnostics for exposure to these metals, and iii) the environmental impact of pharmaceutical industry clusters on the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). He is an experienced experimental pharmacologist with a particular interest in environmental toxicology, focusing on both legacy and emerging endocrine disruptors, such as bisphenols and other plasticizers, often referred to as "forever chemicals."

Prof. MartínDesimone is currently a researcher at CONICET, a Full Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, and a Visiting Professor at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande in Brazil. He holds degrees in Pharmacy and Biochemistry, and a PhD from the University of Buenos Aires. Following postdoctoral research at the University of the Basque Country, he joined the Laboratoire Chimie de la Matiére Condensée de Paris. His accolades include the 2016 Emerging Investigator award from the Journal of Materials Chemistry B and two consecutive Innovar Awards from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation. He has supervised 11 PhD and 3 International Master’s students, authored 138 publications, and holds 4 patents. His research focuses on drug delivery systems, particularly utilizing nanoparticles and 3D printed scaffolds for wound healing, significantly impacting nanomaterials and biomaterials in biomedical applications.