Dr Litty Johnson PhD, MRes

Dr Litty Johnson

School of Pharmacy
Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutics

Contact details

Email
l.johnson.7@bham.ac.uk
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Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Litty Johnson is an Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutics at the Department of Pharmacy. Her research focuses on advancing lipid nanoparticle technology for precise mRNA delivery. Her previous experience in both industry and academia has equipped her with extensive expertise in the fields of pharmaceutics, nanomedicine and immunology, particularly in the development of targeted drug delivery systems, allergen specific immunotherapy and mRNA-based therapeutics.

Litty is also actively involved in teaching and mentoring, guiding MPharm students in advanced drug delivery, nanomedicine and biopharmaceutics. She is passionate about fostering collaborations that drive scientific innovation in the fields of drug delivery, nanomedicine, immunotherapy and vaccine development.

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Qualifications

  • PhD in Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg, 2022
  • MRes in Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, 2018
  • MPharm, Kerala University of Health Sciences 2016

Biography

Dr. Litty Johnson is a pharmaceutical scientist with expertise in nanomedicine, targeted drug delivery and mRNA therapeutics. Prior to joining the University of Birmingham, she was the Lead Formulation Scientist at a biotech company in Vienna, where she played a pivotal role in developing Langerhans cell-targeted drug delivery systems, specialising in mRNA and protein delivery. She also worked as a Research Associate at the University of Salzburg, contributing to the EU-funded NanoCommons project, which focused on the safety and classification of nanomaterials.

Litty earned her PhD from the University of Salzburg, where she investigated nanoparticle-allergen interactions and their implications for immune activation especially focusing on Allergy. She also holds an MRes from the University of Nottingham, where she explored supramolecular gelators for protein aggregation inhibition and an MPharm from Govt. Medical College, Kozhikode.

In addition to her research, Dr. Johnson is passionate about education and mentorship. She teaches and supervises MPharm students in areas such as advanced drug delivery, nanomedicine and biopharmaceutics. She has also guided students through experimental research projects. As an active contributor to the scientific community, she has presented her work at major international conferences and fosters interdisciplinary collaborations in pharmaceutical sciences.

Through her research and teaching, Litty aims to drive advancements in mRNA therapeutics, precision medicine and innovative pharmaceutical technologies, contributing to the future of drug delivery and immunotherapy.

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

Litty is interested in supervising research projects in the following areas:

  • Nanomedicine
  • Protein drug delivery
  • mRNA delivery
  • Immune modulation
  • Vaccine and drug delivery systems

Research

mRNA vaccines for immunomodulation

Litty's current research focuses on the development and optimisation of mRNA vaccines for immunomodulation. Building on her background in lipid nanoparticle formulation and targeted drug delivery systems, she is investigating innovative approaches to harness mRNA technology for precise immune system modulation. Her work integrates expertise in formulation science, immunology and drug delivery to expand the therapeutic potential of mRNA beyond infectious disease applications.

Targeted delivery of vaccines

During her time at a biotech company, Litty contributed to the formulation and development of novel Langerhans cell-targeted drug delivery systems, with a particular focus on lipid nanoparticles for mRNA and targeted protein delivery. The work played a key role in advancing strategies for precise vaccine delivery to antigen-presenting cells, optimising both efficacy and specificity in immune responses.

Nanomaterials and safety research

As part of the NanoCommons H2020 project at the University of Salzburg, the research efforts were dedicated to developing tools for understanding and classifying nanomaterials, with a strong focus on promoting safe innovation and data-driven research in nanotoxicology. This work addressed key topics such as the computational prediction and experimental analysis of the nanoparticle-protein corona, the development of instance maps for organising complex experimental workflows in nanomaterial safety research.

Nanoparticle-based Immunotherapy

Her research at the University of Salzburg investigated the mechanistic understanding of nanoparticle-allergen interactions in allergic responses, with the aim of developing silica nanoparticles as novel adjuvants for allergen-specific immunotherapy. The work explored the safety and efficacy of allergen-nanoparticle conjugates for immunomodulation and optimised nanoparticle surface functionalisation strategies for immune modulation.

Supramolecular Gels for Protein delivery

Litty’s research at the University of Nottingham explored the impact of supramolecular nucleoside gels for protein delivery, particularly their potential in inhibiting protein aggregation using low molecular weight gelators. 

Other activities

Registered Pharmacist- Kerala State Pharmacy Council

Member of Indian Pharmaceutical Association

Winner: Best Oral Presentation Award, Nanoweek conference 2022

Winner: Publication of the month- University of Salzburg 2021, 2023

Peer reviewer for journals

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Johnson, L 2025, 'Instance maps as an organising concept for complex experimental workflows as demonstrated for (nano) material safety research', Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology.

Kraiem, A, Pelamatti, E, Grosse-Kathoefer, S, Demir, H, Vollmann, U, Ehgartner, C, Stigler, M, Punz, B, Johnson, L, Hüsing, N, Bohle, B & Aglas, L 2025, 'Reducing the solubility of the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 by particle-loading mitigates Th2 responses', Allergology International, vol. 74, no. 1, pp. 126-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2024.07.007

Johnson, L, Aglas, L, Punz, B, Dang, HH, Christ, C, Pointner, L, Wenger, M, Hofstaetter, N, Hofer, S, Geppert, M, Andosch, A, Ferreira, F, Horejs-Hoeck, J, Duschl, A & Himly, M 2023, 'Mechanistic insights into silica nanoparticle-allergen interactions on antigen presenting cell function in the context of allergic reactions†', Nanoscale, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 2262-2275. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2nr05181h

Hasenkopf, I, Mills-Goodlet, R, Johnson, L, Rouse, I, Geppert, M, Duschl, A, Maier, D, Lobaskin, V, Lynch, I & Himly, M 2022, 'Computational prediction and experimental analysis of the nanoparticle-protein corona: showcasing an in vitro-in silico workflow providing FAIR data', Nano Today, vol. 46, 101561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nantod.2022.101561

Schürz, M, Danmayr, J, Jaritsch, M, Klinglmayr, E, Benirschke, HM, Matea, CT, Zimmerebner, P, Rauter, J, Wolf, M, Gomes, FG, Kratochvil, Z, Heger, Z, Miller, A, Heuser, T, Stanojlovic, V, Kiefer, J, Plank, T, Johnson, L, Himly, M, Blöchl, C, Huber, CG, Hintersteiner, M & Meisner-Kober, N 2022, 'EVAnalyzer: High content imaging for rigorous characterisation of single extracellular vesicles using standard laboratory equipment and a new open-source ImageJ/Fiji plugin', Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, vol. 11, no. 12, 12282. https://doi.org/10.1002/jev2.12282

Punz, B, Johnson, L, Geppert, M, Dang, HH, Horejs-Hoeck, J, Duschl, A & Himly, M 2022, 'Surface Functionalization of Silica Nanoparticles: Strategies to Optimize the Immune-Activating Profile of Carrier Platforms', Pharmaceutics, vol. 14, no. 5, 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14051103

Wenger, M, Bethanis, A, Johnson, L & Aglas, L 2021, 'Humanized Mediator Release Assay as a Read-Out for Allergen Potency', Journal of Visualized Experiments, vol. 172, e62702. https://doi.org/10.3791/62702

Johnson, L, Aglas, L, Soh, WT, Geppert, M, Hofer, S, Hofstätter, N, Briza, P, Ferreira, F, Weiss, R, Brandstetter, H, Duschl, A & Himly, M 2021, 'Structural alterations of antigens at the material interface: an early decision toolbox facilitating safe-by-design nanovaccine development', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 22, no. 19, 10895. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms221910895

Mills-Goodlet, R, Johnson, L, Hoppe, IJ, Regl, C, Geppert, M, Schenck, M, Huber, S, Hauser, M, Ferreira, F, Hüsing, N, Huber, CG, Brandstetter, H, Duschl, A & Himly, M 2021, 'The nanotopography of SiO2 particles impacts the selectivity and 3D fold of bound allergens', Nanoscale, vol. 13, no. 48, pp. 20508-20520. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1nr05958k

Johnson, L 2020, 'Mechanistic investigations into the encapsulation and release of small molecules and proteins from a supramolecular nucleoside gel in vitro and in vivo', Journal of Controlled Release.

Review article

Christ, C, Waldl, A, Liu, Y, Johnson, L, Auer, V, Cardozo, O, Farias, PMA, Andrade, ACDS, Stingl, A, Himly, M, Punz, B, Li, S, Wang, G & Li, Y 2025, 'Nano-scaled advanced materials for antimicrobial applications – mechanistic insight, functional performance measures, and potentials towards sustainability and circularity', Environmental Science: Nano. https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EN00798K

Hofer, S, Hofstätter, N, Punz, B, Hasenkopf, I, Johnson, L & Himly, M 2022, 'Immunotoxicity of nanomaterials in health and disease: Current challenges and emerging approaches for identifying immune modifiers in susceptible populations', Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology, vol. 14, no. 6, e1804. https://doi.org/10.1002/wnan.1804

Joubert, AI, Geppert, M, Johnson, L, Mills-Goodlet, R, Michelini, S, Korotchenko, E, Duschl, A, Weiss, R, Horejs-Höck, J & Himly, M 2020, 'Mechanisms of Particles in Sensitization, Effector Function and Therapy of Allergic Disease', Frontiers in immunology, vol. 11, 1334. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01334

Johnson, L 2020, 'Medical applications based on nanotechnology', Open Schools Journal for Open Science.

Johnson, L, Duschl, A & Himly, M 2020, 'Nanotechnology-based vaccines for allergen-specific immunotherapy: Potentials and challenges of conventional and novel adjuvants under research', Vaccines, vol. 8, no. 2, 237. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8020237

View all publications in research portal