Key details
Dr Meena Afzali
Research Fellow
Dr Meena Afzali obtained her BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Science (First Class) from the University of Greenwich in 2015, where she was awarded the EDE & Ravenscroft Prize and the Best Project Performance Award. She completed her PhD in Pharmaceutical and Formulation Science at the University of Greenwich, where her research focused on the development of advanced wound healing technologies. She then joined Boehringer Ingelheim as a Research Fellow, working under the supervision of Dr Marie Pettit on formulation development for veterinary medicines.
Meena specialises in pharmaceutical formulation and analytical method development, with expertise in transdermal formulations, oral solid dosage forms, and inhaled formulation development, alongside advanced analytical characterisation, including HPLC, DVS, NMR, and texture analysis.
Meena continues to maintain active research interests in pharmaceutical formulation, drug delivery systems, and wound healing technologies. She has presented her research at several international conferences, including the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting.
She continues to work closely with colleagues at the Medway Centre for Pharmaceutical Sciences, including Dr Marie Pettit, Professor Steve Wicks and Professor Joshua Boateng, contributing to ongoing research and industrial collaboration projects.
Responsibilities within the university
Meena leads externally funded research projects and plays a key role in project management, coordinating resources, budgets, and personnel to ensure successful project delivery. She is actively involved in the acquisition of new industrial partnerships and grant funding to support the research portfolio of the Medway Centre for Pharmaceutical Sciences. Meena supervises undergraduate, MSc, and PhD research students and provides hands-on training in formulation science and analytical techniques. In addition, she contributes to the integration of research into student projects, supports teaching activities, and plays an essential role in maintaining industrial collaborations that drive innovation and income generation for the faculty.
Awards
Best Supervisor of the Year – Student-Led Teaching Awards, University of Greenwich (May 2024)
Early Career Researcher 2nd Prize – International Conference on Pharmaceutics and Novel Drug Delivery Systems, London (June 2018)
Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship for Postgraduate Studies – University of Greenwich (2017–2020)
Best Project Performance Award – University of Greenwich (June 2015)
EDE & Ravenscroft Prize and Nguyen Prize – University of Greenwich (June 2015)
Recognition
RSCI
Research / Scholarly interests
Meena’s research focuses on the design and optimisation of pharmaceutical formulations and drug delivery systems for both human and veterinary medicine. Her expertise covers a broad spectrum of delivery platforms, including topical, transdermal, oral solid dosage forms, inhaled, and injectable formulations, with an emphasis on improving therapeutic efficacy, stability, and patient and animal compliance.
She has a particular interest in biomaterial-based wound healing technologies, specialising in the development of multifunctional scaffolds and hydrogel systems for the treatment of chronic wounds. In addition, Meena is actively involved in the formulation of veterinary-specific medicines, addressing the unique challenges of drug delivery and regulatory standards within animal health. Her work on industrially funded projects has contributed to the advancement of veterinary pharmaceutical products, with a commitment to delivering solutions that meet the needs of both animal health.
Recent publications
Afzali, Meena, Esfandiaribayat, Nessa and Boateng, Joshua (2024) Medicated and multifunctional composite alginate-collagen-hyaluronate based scaffolds prepared using two different crosslinking approaches show potential for healing of chronic wounds. Drug Delivery and Translational Research. ISSN 2190-393X (Print), 2190-3948 (Online) (doi:10.1007/s13346-024-01745-0)
Afzali, Meena and Boateng, Joshua (2022) Composite fish collagen-hyaluronate based lyophilized scaffolds modified with sodium alginate for potential treatment of chronic wounds. Polymers, 14 (8):1550. ISSN 2073-4360 (Online) (doi:10.3390/polym14081550)