ORBITAL’s newest researcher, Ismael Abo Horan, describes his journey to ORBITAL and what he hopes to achieve while researching with the team. You can find out more about his research history, here.
My mother has had rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes. Thus, she was subjected to several treatments that have adverse effects, especially on the joints and the eyes. This has a major impact on deciding to continue scientific research at a very high level.
Education is undoubtedly the most powerful tool to change the world around us and have a positive impact on people’s lives. After earning a Bachelor of Pharmacy, Master of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and diploma of pharmaceutical science, I decided to continue my education at a higher level. I was looking for a place where I could get intensive training as well as networking opportunities.
I was lucky when I got an offer from ORBITAL. This project is a combination of top-level science, networking, and opportunities. This consortium has scientists from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and languages. ORBITAL’s network, meetings, training, and seminars will undoubtedly remove the obstacles to effective cooperation and significant outcomes. Drug delivery into the posterior region of the eye is challenging, and the ORBITAL Project is addressing this by focusing on a range of drug delivery systems rather than just one, which is interesting. I believe that today’s research is more about collaboration, and this is the philosophy of the project.
From the very beginning, it was clear that I wanted to be a scientist in the area of drug delivery systems. I spent around two years at Barcelona University’s Department of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Technology, and Physical Chemistry conducting research. One of the projects was the development and optimization of Baricitinib Microemulsion as Topical Therapy for local inflammation. The results from this work are about to be published very soon. Another interesting project was Polymeric Nanoparticles and Chitosan Gel Loading Ketorolac Tromethamine to Alleviate Pain Associated with Condyloma Acuminata during the Pre- and Post-Ablation. The results from this work are already published in MDPI pharmaceutics. I also took part in other interesting projects.
During my internship at the Scientific and Technological Centers of Barcelona University (CCiTUB), I improved my research skills, particularly regarding the synthesis and characterization of various types of nanoparticles. Moreover, I successfully presented the findings of my master’s thesis at the IN²UB conference where I was also exposed to some interesting work done by colleagues.
I have worked for different research labs in more than three different countries, but I am sure that ORBITAL is the best thing has happened in my career so far!