Melissa Rayner
Melissa graduated with a first class honours in her Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree from Medway School of Pharmacy, Universities of Kent and Greenwich. In her final year of studies she received the University of Kent Faculty of Sciences Rotary award for distinguished performance in exams.
As a undergraduate she undertook a 3-month research project under the supervision of Prof S. Skaper, at the University of Padua, as part of the ERASMUS scheme. The project involved investigating excitatory amino acid receptor-mediated toxicity to oligodendrocytes and the evaluation of flavonoids as cytoprotective agents.
Following graduation she completed a year of pharmacy pre-registration training in a community setting before qualifying as a pharmacist in 2014.
In 2014, Melissa began her PhD programme at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Therapeutics and Nanomedicines at UCL. The first year involved the completion of two training projects based at the Department of Pharmaceutics, UCL School of Pharmacy, and in Drug Product Design, Pfizer, Sandwich, U.K.
Melissa’s PhD research is a multi-disciplinary project to improve regeneration and functional recovery following peripheral nerve damage. It involves close collaboration between the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, UCL School of Pharmacy and the Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering Department, UCL Eastman Dental Institute.
Publications and presentations:
Finch, Alan; Akpokavie, Kafui; Grieb, Sally; Da Costa Mathews, Claudia and Rayner, Melissa (2016). Characterisation of a haze observed in reconstituted lyophile solutions. The Academy if Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmsci. Glasglow, UK, 5th – 7th September 2016.
Rayner, Melissa; Healy, Jess; and Phillips, James. (2016) – Using advanced 3D engineered cell cultures to analyse the effect of drugs on peripheral nerve cells. Tissue and Cell Engineering Society London, UK, 4th-6th July
Rayner, Melissa; Evans, Rachael; Healy, Jess; and Phillips, James. (2016) – Using an advanced 3D engineered neuronal cell culture as a screening tool for drugs promoting peripheral nerve regeneration. European Chapter Meeting of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, Uppsala, Sweden, 28th June – 1st July 2016.
Finch, Alan; Akpokavie, Kafui; Grieb, Sally; Da Costa Mathews, Claudia and Rayner, Melissa (2015). Characterisation of a haze observed in reconstituted lyophile solutions. Analytical Matters, Pfizer.
Rayner, Melissa; Kendall, Richard; Orubu, Samuel; Gerrard, Stephen; Scheuerle, Rebekah; Brocchini, Steve and Tuleu, Catherine. – The Milky Way: Development of a fast-disintegrating insert for the NSDS. United Kingdom and Ireland Controlled Release Society, Nottingham, UK, 16th – 17th April 2015.