The highlight of the 35th anniversary celebration came on the second night of DDL 2024, when the National Museum of Scotland welcomed approximately 1,000 delegates to the Grand Gallery for a night of dining, music, and dance. At the beginning of the dinner, following a performance by kilted bagpipers and drummers, the DDL organizing committee held a brief award presentation ceremony, beginning with the Pat Burnell Young Investigator Award.
Committee member Jenny Lam announced the winner: Stefania Glieca of the University of Parma for her poster titled “Lactobacilli inhalation powder for the reduction of lung inflammation in non-CF bronchiectasis disease.”
The other finalists were:
- Patricia Henriques, Hovione, “In vitro-In vivo Correlations (IVIVC) of Amorphous Solid Dispersions for Nasal Delivery”
- Melvin Wostry, Kiel University, “Customised carrier geometries for inhalation – from in-silico experiments to 3D-printed particles”
- Le Van Bui, Université Libre de Bruxelles, “Pharmacokinetic evaluation of controlled release dry powders for inhalation based on budesonide in healthy rats”
- Patrick He, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, “Assessing low dose aerosolised toxins using the Advanced Integrated Respiratory Model”
The other award winners announced at the dinner were:
- Best Academic Poster: Aliona Debisschop of the University of Ghent, “Design and Evaluation of Lipid Nanoparticles for Messenger RNA Therapy by Repurposing of ‘Lipid-like’ Cationic Amphiphilic Drugs”
- Best Industry Poster: Brenda Hervieu of OptimHal-ProtecSom, “Effect of valve holding chamber on the dynamics of aerosols: Time resolved velocimetry study”
Biologics
In addition to the award-winning presentations and posters related to inhaled delivery of biologics, DDL featured a session titled “Gene Therapy and Biologics for the Lungs” on the first day of the meeting.
