“Dr. Patel is developing a novel transdermal patch for reversal of opioid overdose… This type of patch/product, particularly for this clinical application, has the potential to significantly reduce the number of deaths from opioid overdose – especially in rural and pre-hospital settings.” – Nicole Brogden, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics

• Hometown: Dobhi, Madhya Pradesh, India
• Faculty mentor/advisor: Dr. Nicole K. Brogden (Pharm.D., PhD)
• What is your degree program and expected graduate date? I am working as a Post-Doctoral Fellow since February 2020.
• Please describe your research: Naloxone is the reversal agent used to save lives in cases of opioid overdose, but there are significant limitations to the way we deliver naloxone to the body. My research focuses on developing a skin patch for transdermal delivery of naloxone for reversing opioid overdose. The patch uses dissolving microneedles to rapidly deliver the drug; these microneedles are a painless and novel approach that deliver the therapeutics across the skin.
• In simple terms, why does this research matter? Deaths from opioid overdose in the United States reached an all-time one year high of 93,000 deaths in 2020. Naloxone is the antidote for overdose, but it requires frequent intramuscular injections by trained personnel or repeated intranasal doses delivered by bystanders. A skin patch that delivers naloxone into the body would be a more flexible treatment option that could be administered by care providers, medical personnel, or loved ones in wider range of scenarios.
• How soon after starting at the University of Iowa were you able to participate in research? I started working on this research project in June 2020.
• How has being involved in research made you more successful at the University of Iowa? My involvement in research has been key to my development. The research at University of Iowa gave me the opportunity to work in a translational research environment and interact with prolific scientific minds from different science backgrounds that will help me to develop interdisciplinary research aspects in the future.
• What are your career goals? Being a pharmaceutical scientist, my long-term goal is to develop the efficient, safe, and cost-effective medicine and give this world a healthy life.

 

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