"My time at Queen’s was the springboard for my move to the US, where exposure to new science and networks continued to shape my work. Queen’s gave me the translational mindset that drives my commitment to innovation. My desire to tackle challenging problems to create better treatments for patients started right there in Belfast, and it remains the absolute foundation of my work today."

Ester completed her PhD in Pharmacy and during her five years at Queen's she learned invaluable skills which shaped her career trajectory:

I completed my PhD and first postdoc in the laboratory of Professor Ryan Donnelly, working on microneedle technologies for drug delivery and monitoring. That specialised expertise was precisely what opened the door to my recruitment at MIT. There, I developed an ingestible pill capable of delivering biologics orally. That technology went on to be tested in clinical trials by Novo Nordisk and ultimately led to my recognition as one of MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35.