Sylvia Daunert, PharmD, MS, PhD, FRSC is the Lucille P. Markey Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miller School of Medicine, Director of the Dr. JT Macdonald Foundation Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute, and Director of the Frost Institutes and University STEM Centers and Institutes of the University of Miami. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Daunert was the Gill Eminent Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Daunert was also a Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts & Sciences and a University of Kentucky Research Professor. Among others, she is a Fulbright Scholar, an ELAM Fellow, and the recipient of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry van Slyke Research Award, the National Science Foundation-CAREER Award, the Cottrell-Scholars Award, the Lilly Analytical Faculty Award, the American Chemical Society A. F. Findeis Award, the National Science Foundation Special Creativity Award, the Bill Barfield Award from the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, the Provost’s Award for Scholarly Achievements of the University of Miami, the 2015 WCA Cancer Researcher of the Year Award, the 2018 Florida Cancer Initiative “Sunshine Award” from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In 2022 she was honored with a Hispanic Woman of Distinction award and in 2024 was elected to the of the Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine of Florida, and in 2025 she was elected as a Fellow of the Global Academy of Nanotechnology. Dr. Daunert’s research focuses on the development of bio and nanomaterials for targeted, smart, and controlled drug delivery. Her group also synthesizes nanodrugs for use in nasal delivery formulations for therapeutic interventions in the brain. Further, she genetically engineers living cells and proteins for sensing and diagnostics, point-of-care tests, biomarker identification. Using her biosensors, she aims at understanding the microbiome and the gut-brain axis. Finally, the team employs AI to develop therapeutic peptides. Dr. Daunert’s work has been featured in close to 400 publications, more than 50 patents, and highlighted by the scientific media and popular press. She serves as editor and is a member of editorial and scientific advisory boards of journals, professional societies, as well as governmental organizations and biotech and pharma companies. Among other international awards and honors, she is an elected member of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna (ASIB). Dr. Daunert is also an elected member of the Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia of Spain (RAFS), an Academic D’Honor of the Reial Acadèmia de Farmàcia de Catalunya (RAFC), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, which conferred her with the honor of receiving the titles of Ilustrísima Doctora and Excelentísima Doctora.