Professor Dimitrios A. Lamprou (PhD, MBA) is Chair of Biofabrication and Advanced Manufacturing, and Director of Internationalisation at Queen's University Belfast. His research focuses on advanced drug delivery systems, biofabrication, microfluidics, nanomedicine, artificial intelligence-enabled pharmaceutical technologies, and translational healthcare innovation. He has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications and over 500 conference abstracts, secured research funding exceeding £6 million, and delivered more than 230 invited lectures at leading institutions and international conferences worldwide. Recognised among the world's leading researchers in Printing and Microfluidics, he has been included in Stanford University's Top 2% of Scientists globally for several consecutive years. Professor Lamprou leads multidisciplinary research programmes that integrate pharmaceutical sciences, engineering, biomaterials, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies to develop innovative healthcare solutions with clinical, industrial and societal impact. His research has particular focus on personalised medicines, regenerative healthcare, sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing and emerging therapeutic technologies. Alongside his research activities, he contributes to academic leadership in education, internationalisation and research strategy. He serves as Chair of the United Kingdom and Ireland Controlled Release Society (UKICRS), Co-Chair of the EPSRC Bio-Effective Surface Treatment Network, Section Editor-in-Chief of Pharmaceutics, and a member of the British Standards Institution (BSI) AMT/8 Additive Manufacturing Committee. At the Lamprou Lab, he works with international academic, healthcare and industry partners to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into technologies that address major global healthcare challenges.

My current research interests include understanding the interactions between breast cancer cells and stromal cells in the tumour microenvironment, and how exercise may impinge on these interactions. We created a novel 3D model system for investigating the interactions between mesenchymal stem cells and 3D tumour spheroids, and are now branching into patient-derived organoids and adipocytes to model the obesogenic environment in hormonal breast cancers.

Alan Copner