Expertise
She is a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the University of Surrey. Her research focuses on the design, synthesis and characterisation of inorganic nanoparticles and nanocomposites — including silica, ceria, SPIONs and gold — for biomedical applications, with particular emphasis on drug delivery, antioxidant systems, and their interactions with the cellular environment. These nanocomposite particles are being developed for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, osteoporosis, cancer and tuberculous meningitis.
In 2026, she received the Ulrich Award from the International Sol-Gel Society in recognition of her contributions to sol-gel chemistry for healthcare applications. Prior to her current role, she was Surrey Senior Research Fellow at the University of Surrey's School of Veterinary Medicine (2023–2026).
She began her independent research career as an Imperial College Research Fellow (2019–2023) in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London, during which she received the prestigious June Wilson Award (2021) and was a finalist for STEM for Britain in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences category (2022). In 2019, she was also appointed Research Associate at Imperial College London and Visiting Professor at the University of Sassari. She joined Imperial College London's Department of Materials in 2016 as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow.
Dr Pinna graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Sassari, Italy, before completing her PhD in Nanochemistry, Nanomaterials and Functional Materials at the same institution in 2016, including exchange placements at the University Hospital of Zurich and CSIRO in Melbourne.