{"id":43,"date":"2020-05-13T13:14:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T10:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/?page_id=43"},"modified":"2026-07-03T17:52:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:52:27","slug":"projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our research aims to harness membrane transporters as gateways for targeted drug delivery and precision therapeutics. By combining mechanistic transporter biology with drug design, we develop innovative strategies to improve tissue-selective delivery, overcome biological barriers, and enhance treatment efficacy across neurological, oncological, cardiovascular, and pregnancy-related disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research group develops novel transporter-utilizing drugs and prodrugs to enhance tissue- and cell-specific drug delivery, improve therapeutic efficacy, and reduce off-target effects. Our current research focuses on (more details behind the links<\/em>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brain-targeted drug delivery<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Improving drug transport across the blood\u2013brain barrier (BBB) and selectively into different brain cell populations, including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia, through transporter-mediated uptake mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brain\u2013pancreas axis in neurodegenerative diseases<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Investigating whether dual targeting of transporter-utilizing compounds to both the brain and pancreas can provide therapeutic benefits in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transporter-based cancer therapy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Developing transporter-utilizing drugs and prodrugs that selectively accumulate in cancer cells and tumors. We also investigate how transporter expression and function are regulated within the tumor microenvironment and explore transporter-targeted strategies to modulate tumor-promoting inflammation, angiogenesis, and therapeutic responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardiovascular drug delivery<\/a> (emerging research area)<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Exploring how altered transporter expression and function in cardiovascular diseases influence the uptake of endogenous compounds and therapeutic agents. Our goal is to identify novel strategies for improving cardiac delivery and treatment outcomes in conditions such as heart failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitochondrial drug delivery<\/a> (emerging research area)<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Exploring transporter-mediated approaches for the selective delivery of therapeutic agents to mitochondria. This work aims to advance our understanding of intracellular transport processes and to develop new strategies for treating diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Placenta-targeted drug delivery<\/a> (emerging research area)<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Developing transporter-mediated strategies to selectively target therapeutics to the placenta while minimizing fetal exposure. By advancing our understanding of placental transport mechanisms, we aim to improve treatments for pregnancy-related disorders and contribute to the development of maternal\u2013fetal precision medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emerging and Exploratory Research<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to our main research themes, we actively pursue emerging and interdisciplinary projects that broaden our expertise in transporter biology, pharmacology, drug delivery, biomarker discovery, and disease mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our research aims to harness membrane transporters as gateways for targeted drug delivery and precision therapeutics. By combining mechanistic transporter biology with drug design, we develop innovative strategies to improve tissue-selective delivery, overcome biological barriers, and enhance treatment efficacy across neurological, oncological, cardiovascular, and pregnancy-related disorders. Our research group develops novel transporter-utilizing drugs and prodrugs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-43","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nResearch Themes - Transporter Targeted Drug Delivery<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/drug-targeting\/projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research Themes - Transporter Targeted Drug Delivery\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our research aims to harness membrane transporters as gateways for targeted drug delivery and precision therapeutics. 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