Contact

Joke Deprez
Laboratory for General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy
Ghent University
Ottergemsesteenweg 110
9000 Gent
Belgium
Tel: 0032 9 264 8047 (secretary)
Tel: 0032 9 264 8095 (direct)
E-mail: joke.deprez@ugent.be

Biography

Biography
Education:
Joke Deprez started a Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Ghent in 2012. She subsequently obtained her Master’s degree in Drug Development in 2017 with greatest distinction. She performed her master thesis titled: “Dynamics and Microstructure in Porous Polymer Films” at Chalmers University in collaboration with RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden), Gothenborg, Sweden.
Scholarship:
She obtained a Special Research Fund (BOF) scholarship from Ghent University.
Educational tasks
Tutor Pharmaceutical Bachelor Proof since 2017 (Ghent University, Belgium).
Research interests:
Microbubbles, Ultrasound, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Corticosteroids, Nanomedicins, Sonoprinting, Liposomes, TNF-α siRNA.

Summary of Research Project(s)

The doctoral research of Joke Deprez focuses on the exploration of concepts for advanced targeted administration of corticosteroids and/or TNF-α siRNA into inflamed synovial tissues for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. More specifically she investigates the potential of ultrasound responsive microbubbles carrying liposomes at their surface loaded with corticosteroids and/or TNF-α siRNA. Ultrasound guided delivery might result into increased intra-articular concentration of corticosteroids and TNF-α siRNA, associated with reduced systemic side-effects. This strategy could be particularly interesting in case of mono-arthritis as side-effects are often too high to initiate systemic treatments.