Dr Sonja Vucen is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy at University College Cork (UCC). She completed her MPharm degree at the University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was awarded her PhD by the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Serbia, in 2013.

During her PhD, Dr Vucen was a visiting researcher at the School of Pharmacy, UCC, where she later worked as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2014, she was appointed Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy at UCC and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2024.

She contributes to both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in pharmaceutical science and technology and leads a research group focused on pharmaceutical formulation science, addressing patient-centred challenges and pharmaceutical sector priorities.

Dr Vucen’s research focuses on advanced pharmaceutical formulation and drug delivery for topical, transdermal, and parenteral applications. Her work spans a broad range of therapeutics, including small molecules, large molecules, proteins, vaccines, and biologics.

Her expertise includes innovative delivery systems such as nano- and micro-scale carriers, dissolvable microneedle technologies, and other emerging platforms, alongside scalable manufacturing processes to support clinical and commercial translation.

Her research is underpinned by a strong emphasis on understanding and predicting formulation performance across in vitro, in silico, and in vivo systems. This includes the development of biorelevant in vitro models for topical and transdermal products, as well as the application of physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling to enable reliable translation to target patient populations.

Dr Vucen has substantial experience in teaching, learning, and curriculum development across undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy programmes, as well as in pharmaceutical continuing professional development (CPD). She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from UCC. She has also pioneered and designed CPD microcredential programmes tailored to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry.

She is currently responsible for coordinating and delivering the BPharm modules “Sterile Pharmaceutical Preparations” and “Pharmacokinetics: From Basic Principles to Clinical Applications,” and contributes to the delivery of “Professional Pharmacy Core Skills” module. In addition, she leads the module “Pharmaceutical Statistics and Process Control” within the MSc in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Systems. Her academic responsibilities also include supervising MPharm research projects and postgraduate minor dissertations.