Rate My Professor Joseph Nicolazzo

Professor Joseph Nicolazzo is a Professor and Director of the Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation (CDCO) in the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University, and Associate Dean (International) for the Faculty. A pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist, he graduated with a PhD in 2004 from Monash University focusing on buccal mucosal drug delivery. After two years of postdoctoral training in the CDCO, he joined the Faculty in 2007 as a Lecturer in the Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics theme, rising to Professor and CDCO Director in February 2025. His research utilizes in vitro, in situ, and in vivo models to explore factors affecting blood-brain barrier (BBB) transport of drugs and endogenous molecules, the involvement of intracellular trafficking proteins in BBB transport, the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on BBB drug transport, and molecular targets at the BBB to reverse pathology in neurodegenerative diseases. Nicolazzo's work also examines disease effects on intestinal drug transport and pharmacokinetics, linking CNS drug delivery to ADME properties. He has authored 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts and is regularly invited to international BBB conferences, serving as 2026 Co-Chair of the Gordon Research Conference – Barriers of the CNS.

Nicolazzo's highly cited publications include “Rapid restoration of cognition in Alzheimer's transgenic mice with 8-hydroxy quinoline analogs is associated with decreased interstitial Aβ” (Neuron, 2008), “Chitosan nanoparticles enhance the intestinal absorption of the green tea catechins (+)-catechin and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate” (European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2010), and “Buccal penetration enhancers—how do they really work?” (Journal of Controlled Release, 2005). He has received the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Young Investigator Award (2009), Early Career Researcher Award (2013), Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision Award (2018), Education Excellence in Teaching (2022), and International Pharmaceutical Federation Award of Recognition (2014), and is a Fellow of the International Pharmaceutical Federation. He is Immediate Past President of the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association, Vice-President/President-Elect of the International Brain Barriers Society, and Executive Committee Member of the International Pharmaceutical Federation Board of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Nicolazzo serves on editorial boards of Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, and Fluids and Barriers of the CNS.