PLENARY SPEAKERS

Prof. María J. Blanco-Prieto
Past President of EUFEPS
Full Professor
University of Navarra, Spain

María Blanco-Prieto obtained a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Paris-Sud (France). Following that, she underwent post-doctoral training at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland. She then joined the University of Navarra, where she currently holds the position of Full Professor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology.
Maria Blanco focuses her research on the development of nanomedicines for cancer treatment (particularly childhood cancer), as well as tissue regeneration of the heart and brain through tissue engineering. Throughout her career, she has authored over 180 research papers and book chapters, 6 patents, and presented over 240 communications at scientific conferences, often as an invited speaker.
Her contributions to drug delivery research have been recognized with numerous national and international awards. Maria is a member of the National Academy of Pharmacy of France and Galicia, and the Academy of Medicine of France. In 2021, she became a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and in 2022, she was elected as a member of the Academia Europaea. Since January 2023, she has been the President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS).

Dr. Zoltán Finta
Head of Digitalization, Industrial Operation Euroapi

Started his carrier as chemical engineer at R&D department in Sanofi Budapest in 2001. After some years experience on drug development, scale up and team management, he joined to Zentiva Prague as Head of Chemical Development to manage generic chemical drug development. After returning to Hungary, Zoltan continued as Head of Drug Manufacturing and Packaging Department (Automomous Production Unit) at Sanofi Veresegyház site, followed by a Program Management responsibility  as Division Coordinator for implementation of Serialization and Aggregation Program for multiple Sanofi sites. Currently, working on digitalization fundamentals and end to end management for Industrial Operations Euroapi.    

Dr. Balázs Lendvai
Head of Department of Pharmacology and Drug Safety
Richter Gedeon Plc.

Following his graduation from the Faculty of Medicine at Semmelweis University, he dedicated 16 years to brain research, focusing primarily on the modernization of pharmacological testing through advanced instrumentation. He acquired state-of-the-art in vivo imaging methodologies at a leading research institute in the USA and brought this expertise back to Hungary upon completing his postdoctoral period. In 2009, he joined Gedeon Richter’s original research division, where he leads the discovery unit that conducts preclinical biological studies in collaboration with international pharma partners

Dr. Norbert Pardi

Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology of the Perelman School of Medicine, Pennsylvania

Dr. Norbert Pardi holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and genetics obtained from the University of Szeged, Hungary. He has been working at the University of Pennsylvania since 2011. During his postdoctoral work he was trained in the laboratories of Nobel Laurates Dr. Katalin Kariko and Dr. Drew Weissman. Dr. Pardi currently holds an Associate Professor position at the Department of Microbiology of the Perelman School of Medicine. His research interest is the development of mRNA-based therapeutics with particular focus on new generation infectious disease vaccines. He explored the development of a novel vaccine platform using nucleoside-modified mRNA in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and used it to generate highly effective vaccines targeting various pathogens (influenza virus, coronaviruses, malaria and others). Dr. Pardi is a pioneer of the nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine technology and published milestone papers in the field.

Dr. Erika Pintér MD; PhD; DSc; FBPhS
Head of Department
Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pecs, Hungary

She received her medical degree (MD) and PhD by the University of Pecs, Hungary. She is a doctor (DSc) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 2006. Dr. Pintér spent a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at King’s College London supported by the Royal Society. In 2001 she obtained the Wellcome Trust International Research Development Award supporting her four-year research. She has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and several book chapters providing key data to understand the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of somatostatin and its analogues, physiological and pathological functions of TRPV1 and TRPA1 receptors, as well as the mediator role of hydrogen sulfide in pain and inflammation. Prof Pinter’s research is focused on neuro-immuno-pharmacology and inflammation. Her main interests are the role of capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves in the regulation of microcirculation and immuno-modulatory effects of neurogenic components. She has 8467 citations, her Hirsch index is: 53. She was awarded the Max-Planck Fellowship Germany (1989), Royal Society/ NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship, King’s College London, UK (1998-99),  Wellcome Trust International Research Development Award UK (2001-2005), János Bolyai Research Fellowship, Hungary (2005), Szentágothai Advanced Researcher Fellowship Hungary (2014). She received the Béla Issekutz Award – lifetime achievement award of the Hungarian Pharmacological Society and the fellowship of the British Pharmacological Society (FBPhS) in 2017. She is the owner of the Károly Moll Award, the Hungarian Cross of the Order of Merit and the Miklós Jancsó Memorial Medal.

Professor Pinter has sat on committees of the Hungarian Physiological Society (she is currently the General Secretary of the Society) and the Hungarian Pharmacological Society. She is the member of the British Pharmacological Society and was elected FBPhS in 2017. She is the member of the Steering Committee of the International Society for Bioactive Peptides.

Dr András Süle
Director of Pharmacy at the Péterfy Hospital and Outpatient Clinic, Budapest, Hungary

He is an honorary associate professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Pécs, Hungary, and a guest lecturer and program lead for the Hospital Pharmacy Specialization Postgraduate Program at Semmelweis University, Budapest. He is an external pharmacy strategist at the National Directorate General for Hospitals in Hungary.

In 2008, Dr Süle obtained a PhD from Semmelweis University and has since gone on to complete a PharmD Specialisation in Pharmaceutical Technology and a PharmD Specialisation in Clinical Pharmacy. He also holds a BSc in Healthcare Management.

During his service within the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), he held the positions of Director of Professional Development, Director of Finance and President-Elect. In June 2021 he started his 3-year term as EAHP’s President that concluded in June 2024. He is currently the Immediate Past President of the association. In his home country, he serves as the president of the Hungarian Chamber of Hospital Pharmacists.