On Thursday, February 20, 2025, the College of Pharmacy at Gulf Medical University hosted a research seminar delivered by Dr. Santosh Kumar, Senior Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, Finland. The session was attended by faculty members from the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department and candidates from the Master’s in Drug Discovery and Development program.
Titled “Targeted Drug Delivery to Brain-Cells Utilizing Membrane Transporters”, the seminar explored advanced strategies for enhancing drug delivery to the brain, overcoming challenges associated with the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and leveraging membrane transporters for more effective treatments.
Dr. Santosh holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, where he specialized in marine natural product isolation, total synthesis, and anticancer drug discovery. At the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in the Czech Republic, he studied modulating N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors for neuroprotection. His studies involved designing synthetic steroidal molecules to target the Central Nervous System (CNS) and reduce excitotoxicity in the brain. He has over 26 publications in natural product research and rational CNS drug discovery.
During the seminar, Dr. Santosh highlighted the limitations of existing chemical tools and gaps in BBB knowledge, which hinder the development of effective brain-targeted drugs.
He also elaborated on increased and targeted brain (pro)drug delivery via the utilization of Solute Carriers (SLCs), offering innovative approaches to improve drug transport across the BBB.
The session concluded with an engaging Q&A discussion, where attendees explored the potential applications in neuropharmacology and CNS drug development.