Dr Gianpiero Calabrese

Contact

Gianpiero Calabrese
About
Teaching and learning
Research
Leadership and management
Videos of my work

About

I completed my Extended Master Degree in Organic and Biological Chemistry at Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy, where I specialised in the isolation and synthesis of marine natural substances. In 2008, I obtained my PhD from the University of Portsmouth, where I worked in the Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Group under the supervision of Dr John Tsibouklis and investigated the synthesis and evaluation of boronated agents that can selectively target the mitochondrial of tumour cells in the Boron neutron Capture Therapy of cancers.

In 2008, I joined the Department of Pharmacy at Kingston University, London, where I currently am Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics.

During my academic career I have developed a vast expertise in Teaching and Learning at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I specialise in Organic and Analytical Chemistry, Material Chemistry, Drug Delivery, Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine, Cancer Therapy and Research Methods.  

I am Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

My research interests cover the following areas:

  • Drug delivery: polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes and carbon nanotubes for the targeting of the Central Nervous System.
  • Design, synthesis and formulation of boron-containing compounds for selective mitochondrial targeting in the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy of brain cancers.
  • Electronic cigarettes: analysis of content, public health issues related to pharmacy practice, pharmacology/toxicology, and formulation.
  • Inhalation therapy of proteins and their stabilization in the dry state.

Academic responsibilities

Associate Professor in Drug Delivery & Nanomedicine

Qualifications

  • PGCert in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University
  • PhD in Organic/Medicinal Chemistry at University of Portsmouth
  • PGCert as Teacher, Tutor and Demonstrator University of Portsmouth, UK
  • PGCert in Scientific Research Methods, University of Portsmouth, UK
  • Extended Master Degree in Organic and Biological Chemistry at Universita' degli Studi di Salerno, Italy

Teaching and learning

During my academic career I have developed a vast expertise in Teaching and Learning at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I specialise in Organic and Analytical Chemistry, Material Chemistry, Drug Formulation, Nanotechnology and Nanomedicine, Drug Delivery and Research Methods. I lead modules on the Master of Pharmacy and on the Foundation Degree in Pharmaceutical and Chemical Sciences (Pre-Pharmacy).

I carry out investigations in pedagogy, including students' success and progression, provision of feedback, personal tutoring support systems and employment of video and advanced technologies in teaching.

My Teaching and Learning philosophy goes beyond the classroom and extends to the provision of a stimulating and friendly environment where students can thrive. In this context, I am the Leader of the Personal Tutor Scheme (PTS) in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing where I liaise with 3 Schools to ensure a consistent academic support and access to guidance to all students during their learning journey.

  • One of my recent studies (to be published soon) showed that there is a gap between students' expectations and perceptions of their learning experience at university. Despite this gap has recently reduced, higher education institutions still have further work to do and the PTS might serve as the ideal means to improve the overall students' experience and, as a consequence, institutional rankings.
  • Feedback on student work is a key mechanism for improving learning in higher education. Despite the lack of evidence on its effectiveness, many institutions moved to the provision of electronic feedback. Many studies evaluate the students' perception of e-feedback, but little is known of perceptions of its value according to different disciplines. My recent study showed that perceived relevance, features and expectations of the quality of e-feedback varies according to students' disciplinary cluster. Institutions must reflect on the provision of electronic feedback and how different disciplines may influence the students' perception of the feedback they receive. This work is especially valuable in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, check it out: ElShaer A, Casanova D, N Freestone, and Calabrese G. Students' perceptions of the value of electronic feedback – does disciplinary background really matter? British Journal of Educational Technology, 2019, 51, 2, 590–606.

Academic Impact Awards

  • 2020: Best Personal Tutor Award (winner), Kingston University, London
  • 2019: Best Postgraduate Teacher Award (nomination), Kingston University, London
  • 2017: Best Personal Tutor Award (runner-up), Kingston University, London
  • 2016: Developing Students' Employability Award (runner-up), Kingston University, London
  • 2015: Best Personal Tutor Award (winner), Kingston University, London
  • 2015: Best Project/Dissertation Supervisor Award (nomination), Kingston University, London
  • 2013: Best Teacher (runner-up), Kingston University, London

Qualifications and expertise

  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
  • PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Kingston University, UK

Undergraduate courses taught

Postgraduate courses taught

Research

The major focus of my research is the synthesis of drugs targeting cancer cells and formulated by means of nano-vehicles. I manage a portfolio of novel, boronated delocalized lipophilic cations for applications in the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy of cancers. I also developed a series of well-characterised alkylglycerol-functionalised chitosan. These can be employed to formulate the tumour targeting drugs as means of polymeric nanoparticles or hydrogels (filed European patent).

My interest in radiation therapy arises from a strong collaboration with the private sector and specifically with TheranostiCentre s.r.l. (Italia) and King's College London. We have devised an innovative therapeutic modality in which drugs are activated during a cutting-edge neutron intra-operative radiation therapy (nIORT®) by the scattering of the 1-2 MeV moderated fast neutrons emitted by a NEUTRON BRUSH®. We are currently working on the evaluation of the merging of this radiotherapy with the existing robotic systems currently employed in surgical procedures in oncology, also thanks to the key collaboration with Kings' College London.

I am the leader of a multidisciplinary line of investigation regarding Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), also known as e-cigarettes, and the transfer of this technology to the delivery of medicines. ENDS use continues to grow globally, but in an unregulated and uncontrolled fashion. I have addressed this theme of investigation from the following points of view: analytical chemistry, compliance with regional regulations on labelling, potential risks posed to public health as well as exploitation of the transfer of the technologies currently employed in ENDS to deliver medicines in the areas of palliative care, respiratory disease and mental health. I currently collaborate with the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in this area.

Other research interests span the areas of inhalation therapy, regulatory affairs, public health and pharmacy practice.

Qualifications and expertise

  • PhD in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Portsmouth, UK
  • PGCert in Scientific Research Methods, University of Portsmouth, UK
  • Extended Master Degree in Organic and Biological Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Italy

Scholarly affiliations

  • Member of Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

Research student supervision

Publications

Jump to: Article | Book Section | Conference or Workshop Item
Number of items: 44.

Article

Emani, Sravani, Vangala, Anil, Buonocore, Federico, Yarandi, Niousha and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2023) Chitosan hydrogels cross-linked with trimesic acid for the delivery of 5-fluorouracil in cancer therapy. Pharmaceutics, 15(4), p. 1084. ISSN (online) 1999-4923

Buonocore, F., Barton, S., Nabhani-Gebara, S. and Calabrese, G. (2023) Can ENDS technology facilitate the delivery of medicines? Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, 80, p. 104206. ISSN (print) 1773-2247

Al-Absi, Mona Y., Caprifico, Anna Eleonora and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2023) Chitosan and its structural modifications for siRNA delivery. Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 13(2), pp. 275-282. ISSN (print) 2228-5881

Caprifico, Anna E., Foot, Peter J.S., Polycarpou, Elena and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2022) Advances in chitosan-based CRISPR/Cas9 delivery systems. Pharmaceutics, 14(9), p. 1840. ISSN (online) 1999-4923

Caprifico, Anna and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2022) Assessment of zonula occluden-1 expression by Wnt/β-catenin pathway activators in hCMEC/D3 cells. Academia Letters, p. 5472. ISSN (online) 2771-9359

Babenko, Mai, Alany, Raid G, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Kaialy, Waseem and ElShaer, Amr (2022) Development of drug alone and carrier-based GLP-1 dry powder inhaler formulations. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 617, p. 121601. ISSN (print) 0378-5173 (Epub Ahead of Print)

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Leadbitter, Debbie-Leigh M, Do Sacramento Menezes Da Trindade, Neusa, Jeyabalan, Ashveini, Dolton, Debbie and ElShaer, Amr (2022) Personal tutoring scheme : expectations, perceptions and factors affecting students' engagement. Frontiers in Education, 6, p. 727410. ISSN (online) 2504-284X

Caprifico, Anna E., Foot, Peter J.S., Polycarpou, Elena and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2021) Overcoming the protein corona in chitosan-based nanoparticles. Drug Discovery Today, 26(8), pp. 1825-1840. ISSN (print) 1359-6446

Caprifico, Anna E., Polycarpou, Elena, Foot, Peter J. S. and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2021) Biomedical and pharmacological uses of fluorescein isothiocyanate chitosan-based nanocarriers. Macromolecular Bioscience, 21(1), p. 2000312. ISSN (print) 1616-5187

Daou, Anis, Alany, Raid G. and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2021) Formulation of boron encapsulated smart nanocapsules for targeted drug delivery to the brain. Applied Sciences, 11(22), ISSN (online) 2076-3417

Caprifico, Anna E., Foot, Peter J.S., Polycarpou, Elena and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2020) Overcoming the blood-brain barrier : functionalised chitosan nanocarriers. Pharmaceutics, 12(11), p. 1013. ISSN (online) 1999-4923

Caprifico, Anna E., Polycarpou, Elena, Foot, Peter J. S. and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2020) Fluorescein isothiocyanate chitosan nanoparticles in oral drug delivery studies. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 41(10), pp. 686-689. ISSN (print) 0165-6147

ElShaer, Amr, Casanova, Diogo, Freestone, Nicholas S and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2020) Students' perceptions of the value of electronic feedback : does disciplinary background really matter? British Journal Of Educational Technology, 51(2), pp. 590-606. ISSN (print) 0007-1013

Babenko, Mai, Peron, Jean-Marie R., Kaialy, Waseem, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Alany, Raid G. and ElShaer, Amr (2019) [sup]1H NMR quantification of spray dried and spray freeze-dried saccharide carriers in dry powder inhaler formulations. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 564, pp. 318-328. ISSN (print) 0378-5173

Olusanya, Temidayo O.B., Calabrese, Gianpiero, Fatouros, Dimitrios G., Tsibouklis, John and Smith, James R. (2019) Liposome formulations of o-carborane for the boron neutron capture therapy of cancer. Biophysical Chemistry, 247, pp. 25-33. ISSN (print) 0301-4622

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Daou, Anis, Barbu, Eugen and Tsibouklis, John (2018) Towards carborane-functionalised structures for the treatment of brain cancer. Drug Discovery Today, 23(1), pp. 63-75. ISSN (print) 1359-6446

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Daou, Anis, Rova, Aikaterini, Tseligka, Eirini D., Vizirianakis, Ioannis S, Fatouros, Dimitris and Tsibouklis, John (2017) Boron-containing delocalised lipophilic cations for the selective targeting of cancer cells. MedChemComm, 8(1), pp. 67-72. ISSN (print) 2040-2503

Buonocore, Federico, Marques Gomes, Ana C N, Nabhani-Gebara, Shereen, Barton, Stephen J. and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2017) Labelling of electronic cigarettes : regulations and current practice. Tobacco Control, 26(1), pp. 46-52. ISSN (print) 0964-4563

Marques Gomes, Ana C N, Nabhani-Gebara, Shereen, Kayyali, Reem, Buonocore, Federico and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2016) Survey of community pharmacists' perception of electronic cigarettes in London. BMJ Open, 6(11), e013214. ISSN (online) 2044-6055

ElShaer, Amr, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Casanova, Diogo and Huet, Isabel (2016) Building a community of practice for engaging pharmacy students to learn in a collaborative research environment. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 8(5), pp. 698-707. ISSN (print) 1877-1297

Tseligka, Eirini D., Rova, Aikaterini, Amanatiadou, Elsa P., Calabrese, Gianpiero, Tsibouklis, John, Fatouros, Dimitrios G. and Vizirianakis, Ioannis S. (2016) Pharmacological development of target-specific delocalized lipophilic cation-functionalized carboranes for cancer therapy. Pharmaceutical Research, 33(8), pp. 1945-1958. ISSN (print) 0724-8741

Al-Kinani, Ali Athab, Naughton, Declan P., Calabrese, Gianpiero, Vangala, Anil, Smith, James R., Pierscionek, Barbara K. and Alany, Raid G. (2015) Analysis of 2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography: application for ocular delivery using chitosan nanoparticles. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 407(9), pp. 2645-2650. ISSN (print) 1618-2642

Vimalarasa, Rubini, Foot, P. J. and Calabrese, Gianpierro (2014) Evaluation of a smart polymer nanosphere for potential use in anticancer drug delivery. Polymers and Polymer Composites, 22(9), pp. 753-762. ISSN (print) 0967-3911

Theodoropoulos, Dimitrios, Rova, Aikaterini, Smith, James R., Barbu, Eugen, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Vizirianakis, Ioannis S., Tsibouklis, John and Fatouros, Dimitrios G. (2013) Towards boron neutron capture therapy: The formulation and preliminary in vitro evaluation of liposomal vehicles for the therapeutic delivery of the dequalinium salt of bis-nido-carborane. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 23(22), pp. 6161-6166. ISSN (print) 0960-894X

Calabrese, Gianpiero (2012) Formulation of drugs : a key to success. Drug Discovery Today, ISSN (print) 1359-6446

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Nesnas, John J, Barbu, Eugen, Fatouros, Dimitris and Tsibouklis, John (2012) The formulation of polyhedral boranes for the boron neutron capture therapy of cancer. Drug Discovery Today, 17(3-4), pp. 153-159. ISSN (print) 1359-6446

Yannopoulis, SN, Zouganelis, GD, Nurmohamed, S, Smith, JR, Bouropoulos, N, Calabrese, G, Fatouros, DG and Tsibouklis, J (2010) Physisorbed o-carborane onto lyso-phosphatidylcholine-functionalized, single-walled carbon nanotubes: a potential carrier system for the therapeutic delivery of boron. Nanotechnology, 21(8), Article number 085101. ISSN (print) 0957-4484

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Gomes, Ana C. N. M., Barbu, Eugen, Nevell, Thomas G. and Tsibouklis, John (2008) Carborane-based derivatives of delocalised lipophilic cations for boron neutron capture therapy: synthesis and preliminary in vitro evaluation. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 18(40), pp. 4864-4871. ISSN (print) 0959-9428

Sala, Giorgio Della, Cutignano, Adele, Fontana, Angelo, Spinella, Aldo, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Coll, Anna Domenech, d'Ippolito, Giuliana, Monica, Carmela Della and Cimino, Guido (2007) Towards the biosynthesis of the aromatic products of the Mediterranean mollusc 'Scaphander lignarius' : isolation and synthesis of analogues of lignarenones. Tetrahedron, 63(30), pp. 7256-7263. ISSN (print) 0040-4020

Book Section

Fatouros, Dimitrios G., Calabrese, Gianpiero, Barbu, Eugen, Roldo, Marta, Faourou, Andriani G. and Tsibouklis, John (2013) Boron neutron capture therapy : active agents and lipid carriers. In: Vizirianakis, Ioannis S., (ed.) Handbook of personalized medicine: advances in nanotechnology, drug delivery, and therapy. Boca Raton, U.S. : CRC Press. pp. 109-128. ISBN 9789814411196

Al-Kinani, Ali A., Calabrese, Gianpiero, Vangala, Anil, Naughton, Declan and Alany, Raid G. (2012) Nanotechnology in ophthalmic drug delivery. In: Souto, Eliana B., (ed.) Patenting nanomedicines: legal aspects, intellectual property and grant opportunities. Berlin, Germany : Springer. pp. 277-303. ISBN 9783642292644

Conference or Workshop Item

Paliokosta, Paty, Lipsedge, Karen, Cunningham, Matthew, Barker, Christopher, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Mulrooney, Hilda, Groves, Konami, Davies, Rachel, Burden, Penny, Bailey, Joanna and Topcu, Mel (2021) The value of the Personal Tutor Scheme (PTS) as a mechanism of supporting belonging in an online world. In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference: Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy; 29-30 Jun 2021, Milton Keynes, U.K. (Held online). (Unpublished)

Paliokosta, Paty, Lipsedge, Karen, Cunningham, Matthew, Barker, Christopher, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Mulrooney, Hilda, Groves, Konami, Davies, Rachel, Burden, Penny, Bailey, Joanna and Topcu, Mel (2021) The value of the Personal Tutor Scheme (PTS) as a mechanism of supporting belonging in an online world. In: Festival of Learning 2021; 25 Jun 2021, Kingston upon Thames, U.K. (Held online). (Unpublished)

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Elshaer, Amr and Olagunju, Julianne (2020) Employing videos in teaching laboratory skills and the associated student experience. In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference : Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy; 01 - 02 Jul 2020, Nottingham, U.K. (Held online). (Unpublished)

Calabrese, Gianpiero, Elshaer, Amr, Dolton, Debbie-Rose, Do Sacramento Menezes Da Trindade, Neusa and Jeyabalan, Ashveini (2020) Personal Tutor Scheme : students' expectations and perception. In: Horizons in STEM Higher Education Conference : Making Connections, Innovating and Sharing Pedagogy; 01 - 02 Jul 2020, Nottingham, U.K. (Held online). (Unpublished)

Calabrese, G, Daou, A, Carew, M and Alany, R (2017) Smart polymeric nanoparticles for the delivery of drugs in the BNCT of brain tumours. In: The 7th Annual World Congress of Nano Science & Technology (Nano S&T-2017) : Welcome to a New Era of Nano-Level; 24 - 26 Oct 2017, Fukuoka, Japan. (Unpublished)

Vimalarasa, Rubini, Foot, Peter J. S. and Calabrese, Gianpiero (2015) Polypyrrole-chitosan core-shell nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery. In: 4th NanoFar Autumn School; 26 - 30 Oct 2015, Nantes, France. (Unpublished)

Nabhani-Gebara, Shereen, Marques Gomes, Ana, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Kayyali, Reem, Bhatti, Aqeel, Adamjee, Alefiyah and Merlehan, Claire (2015) E-cigarettes : perceptions of healthcare professionals. In: UK Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Conference (UKNSCC); 11-12 Jun 2015, Manchester, U.K.. (Unpublished)

Yasmin, Z., Gomes, A., Calabrese, G. and Nabhani-Gebara, S. (2014) Community pharmacists' perceptions of e-cigarettes. In: Royal Pharmaceutical Society Annual Conference; 07 - 08 Sep 2014, Birmingham, U.K..

Yasmin, Zohra, Gomes, Ana Christina, Calabrese, Gianpiero, Nabhani-Gebara, Shereen and Kayyali, Reem (2014) Community pharmacists' perceptions of e-cigarettes. In: UK Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Conference; 12th - 13th June 2014, London, U.K..

Al-Kinani, A., Vangala, A., Naughton, D., Pierscionek, B., Calabrese, G. and Alany, R. (2013) Development and validation of a new HPLC method for quantification of (R)-(−)-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid in simulated aqueous humor. In: American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition; 10-14 Nov 2013, San Antonio, USA. (Unpublished)

Al-Kinani, A., Abbas, Z., Calabrese, G., Pierscionek, B., Vangala, A., Naughton, D. and Alany, R. (2013) N-glycerol alkyl chitosan submicron particles as drug delivery systems: formulation and characterization studies. In: American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition; 10-14 Nov 2013, San Antonio, USA. (Unpublished)

Al-Kinani, A. A., Naughton, D., Pierscionek, B., Vangala, A., Swinden, J., Calabrese, G. and Alany, R. (2013) Separation and quantification of methionine in simulated aqueous humor using capillary electrophoresis. In: American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition; 10-14 Nov 2013, San Antonio, USA. (Unpublished)

Al-Kinani, A.A., Calabrese, G., Naughton, D.P., Pierscionek, B.K., Swinden, J., Vangala, A. and Alany, R. G. (2013) Separation and quantification of cystine and cysteine in simulated aqueous humor using capillary electrophoresis. In: 40th Annual Meeting & Exposition of the Controlled Release Society; 21-24 July 2013, Honolulu, USA.

This list was generated on Wed Sep 13 06:35:23 2023 BST.

Leadership and management

I contribute to Leadership and Management of the University across a range of processes admission, outreach, policy making and students' engagement and wellbeing.

Admissions, Recruitment and Outreach

I am the leader of Admission for the Department of Pharmacy since 2010. I coordinate recruitment strategies, manage staff training in admission processes, design and participate to Open Days activities and recruitment events; as well as broaden the Universities reach through outreach and widening participation (e.g. talks at colleges, Head Start, etc.). Since 2011, I am a Member of the Pharmacy Schools Council Admissions Network, which shapes admission strategies for all Schools of Pharmacy in the UK. I also coordinate admission aspects of all courses in the Department of Pharmacy for periodic re-accreditation with the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Policy making

I am a member of the Fitness to Practice Committee of the Department of Pharmacy since 2010. I liaise with applicants and authorities to prepare Fitness to Practice cases to be submitted to the attention of the Committee. I also actively contribute to the creation and implementation of policies in Fitness to Practice, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Health checks.

Students' engagement and wellbeing

I am the leader of the Personal Tutor Scheme in the Faculty of Science, Computing and Engineering. I work closely with other Student Support systems, both specific to SEC (e.g. SASC) and university-wide (e.g. Student Enrichment).As SEC representative I seat on the regular University Personal Tutor Scheme Advisory group to shape the future of the students' learning experience at Kingston University.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Personal Tutor Scheme Leader in SEC
  • Admission Tutor, Department of Pharmacy
  • University Teaching Observation Scheme
  • Pharmacy Fitness to Practice Committee
  • Kingston Academic Practice Standards (KAPS) reviewer for fellowships applications to the HEA
  • University Personal Tutor Scheme Advisory group
  • Campus Re-enablement: Student –Task and Finish group (2020)
  • Personal Tutoring Scheme –Task and Finish group (2019-2020)

Videos of my work

I work in collaboration with TheranostiCentre on the development of a new Neutron Intra-Operative Irradiation Therapy (nIORT), using the innovative NEUTRON BRUSH®.

TheranostiCentre - Equity crowdfunding

Social media

LinkedIn