If you are interested in conducting a research project with us, please contact the department's Postgraduate Adviser Dr Suresh Muthukumaraswamy pharmacy_phd@uoa.auckland.ac.nz
Every doctoral student receives money into a PReSS account each year to help fund their research. Many of our supervisors have funded projects from granting bodies and/or through commercial contracts.
Supervisors
Pursue your topic with us and benefit from exceptional standards of support and supervision from internationally recognised researchers.
Dr Trudi Aspden
Research interests: Scholarship of teaching and learning in pharmacy, community pharmacy, healthcare disparities.
Professor Jo Barnes
Research interests: regulation, use, safety and efficacy of herbal and other ‘traditional’ medicines and other natural health products (H&TMs/NHPs).
Dr Louise Curley
Research interests: Brain imaging, EEG, fMRI, risky behaviour, effects of drugs on cognition, community pharmacy.
Dr Sara Hanning
Research interests: Development of dosage forms for children, pharmaceutical sciences in clinical practice.
Professor Jeff Harrison
Research interests: Cardiovascular medicine, evidence-based medicine, computerised decision support, medication safety.
Dr Joanne Lin
Research interests: Brain imaging, EEG, MRI, neuroinflammation.
Dr Nataly Martini
Research interests: Medication management, clinical decision making, simulation-based education, future of pharmacy.
Dr Mohammed Mohammed
Research interests: Medicines and health outcomes, medication-related burden, deprescribing, patient-reported outcomes/measures, medication safety, health informatics.
Professor Suresh Muthukumaraswamy
Research interests: Brain imaging, EEG, fMRI, TMS, psychopharmacology, antidepressants, major depressive disorder.
Dr Rhys Ponton
Research interests: Drug policy, drug misuse, treatment of drug dependence, pain treatment in chronic pain.
Dr Shane Scahill
Research interest: Applying management concepts such as organisational culture, entrepreneurship, AI and technology disruption to pharmacy practice research.
Dr Manisha Sharma
Research interests: Novel drug delivery systems, implants, analytical method development, protein extraction, purification and characterisation.
Professor Darren Svirskis
Research interests: Controlling pain after surgery, spinal cord injury, drug delivery systems, microelectrode arrays, brain:machine interface.
Dr Sachin Thakur
Research interests: Stimuli-responsive drug delivery, posterior eye disease, hydrogel formulation, microbubble-based delivery systems.
Professor Jingyuan Wen
Research interests: Formulation and drug delivery, nanotechnology and lipid-based system, drug transport across GI tract and blood brain barrier.
Professor Zimei Wu
Research interests: Preformulation, formulation design, conventional and novel drug delivery systems, liposomal formulation and clinical applications, injectable formulation of poorly water-soluble drugs.
Past research topics
Some examples of recently completed research degrees from the School of Pharmacy include:
- ‘Development of an Intra-peritoneal Implant for the Sustanced Release of Lidocaine Following Abdominal Surgery.’ PhD thesis of Dr Prabhat Bhusal. Supervised by Darren Svriskis
- ‘Peptide-Assisted Intracellular Drug Delivery for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy.’ PhD thesis of Dr Emma Kang. Supervised by Zimei Wu
- ‘Optimising Recording & Stimulation Performance of Neuronal Microelectrode Arrays through Macroporous Conducting Polymer Modification.’ PhD thesis of Dr Zaid Aqrawe.
- ‘Investigation of a fusogenic pH-sensitive liposomal system for tumour-targeted intracellular delivery of dinitrobenzamide mustard prodrugs’. PhD thesis of Mimi Yang. Supervised by Zimei Wu
- ‘Improving adherence and asthma outcomes in individuals with poorly controlled asthma’. PhD thesis of Amy Chan. Supervised by Dr Jeff Harrison
- ‘Sharing Prescription Medicines: An Exploration Of Patients’ and Health Professionals’ Perspectives’. PhD thesis of Kebede Beyene. Supervised by Professor Janie Sheridan