After completing a B.Sc Hons. degree in Chemistry (1st Class, 1987) and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry (1990) at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (London), Yogeshvar N. KALIA held postdoctoral positions in the Department of Biochemistry and the Centre for Molecular Recognition at the University of Cambridge and the Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California – San Francisco. In 1996, he joined the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Geneva – first, as part of the Pharmaceutical Technology Unit before moving to the Medicinal Chemistry Unit in 2001 where he currently helds the position of Associate Professor and lead the Molecular Therapeutics Delivery Group.
Since 2014, he has also been head of the Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He has a broad research background that includes the development of amperometric enzyme-based biosensors, the use of NMR techniques to elucidate protein structure and the use of biophysical methods to evaluate skin barrier function in addition to his work in the field of drug delivery. His group’s research focuses on the use of chemical modification and the development of formulation and technology-based strategies to improve the local and systemic delivery of therapeutic agents. Their main area of interest has been topical and transdermal delivery where, among other activities, they have investigated different approaches – including iontophoresis and fractional laser ablation – to enable the needle-less delivery of peptides, proteins and antibodies into and across the skin. In recent years, they have also begun to explore other routes of administration and have ongoing projects in buccal and ocular delivery and the development of models for intestinal absorption. His research is funded by public grants and through industrial collaborations and he has published ~130 papers, 14 book chapters and presented ~170 conference communications. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics and Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery and he is also a reviewer for more than forty journals in the (bio)medical and pharmaceutical sciences.
