Research Interests

Open to PhD applications in the field of peptide-based materials within drug delivery and biomaterials applications; hydrogel materials in drug delivery and biomaterial applications; and drug formulation and delivery.

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Current Research Opportunities

• Enzyme-responsive peptide hydrogel as in situ forming long-acting drug delivery implants
• Peptide-like hydrogels: A post-surgical sustained release drug delivery implant for the treatment of glioblastoma brain tumours
• Peptide-like hydrogels as a long-acting multipurpose drug delivery platform for combined contraception and HIV prevention
• Peptide-like hydrogels as long-acting injectable drug delivery platforms for the prevention of malaria
• Peptide-like hydrogels as long-acting injectable drug delivery platforms for the prevention of tuberculosis

Public outreach & key achievements

• Garry is a recent recipient of a prestigious Royal Society - Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship.
• Our HIV-contraceptive drug delivery research was selected by the EPSRC as a case study within their Developing New Therapies Grand Challenge.
• This technology has also been highlighted by the media and news outlets, most recently within The Irish Times, Advanced Science News and by the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and Science and Technology Facilities Council: ISIS Neutron and Muon Source.
• Our group's work also relates to the development of self-assembling peptide-based hydrogel materials for use against infection. Our work on the use of ultrashort self-assembling peptide gels against resistant biofilm forms of hospital superbugs attracted interest from national and international media outlets including BBC, RTE and UTV television and radio, The Belfast Telegraph, The Irish Times, WTOP radio Washington D.C and abc News.

Research students

PhD Title	Peptide hydrogels as a long-acting multipurpose drug delivery platform for combined contraception and HIV prevention
Name	Han Sun
Years of Study	2
Country	China

Alumni: Where are they now

PhD Title	Peptide hydrogels as a long-acting multipurpose drug delivery platform for combined contraception and HIV prevention.
Name	Yuming An
Country	China
Current position	Research Fellow, Decuzzi Group, Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, Italy
PhD Title	Polymyxin-mimetic peptides for improved antimicrobial activity
Name	Rawan Huwaitat
Country	Jordan
Current position	Academic, Department Of Pharmacy, Al-Zaytoonah University
PhD Title	Self-assembled Peptide Nanomaterials for the Prevention of Biomaterial Infection
Name	Alice McCloskey
Country	Ireland
Current position	Academic, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores

Discover More

• Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences
• School of Pharmacy
• Materials and Advanced Technologies for Healthcare 
• https://www.lavertylab.com/
• https://epsrc.ukri.org/files/research/gel-injections/