National recognition for our Consultant Pharmacist
This month, our resident Pharmacist, Lucy Galloway has been designated a Fellow of the Royal College of Pharmacy. The award is one of the highest honours bestowed by the College and is in recognition of achieving distinction in the profession.
To celebrate, we spent some time chatting with Lucy about her career to date and what brought her to genomics.
Lucy is most proud of her recent work to co-author and launch the Handbook of Pharmacogenomics in partnership with the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association. The book is a free online resource containing evidence based advice and guidance on the use of pharmacogenomic results to optimise the use of medicines.
Can you tell us about your career journey so far?
I studied Pharmacy at university and started my career in hospital pharmacy specialising in renal and transplant medicine before moving into commissioning and then genomic medicine. I completed a master’s degree in Genomic Medicine in 2024 alongside working.
What inspired you to work in your field?
Working in transplant I was acutely aware of wide variation in responses to anti-rejection medicines that were known to be related to genetics, and I took an interest in early research in this area.
I am also an independent prescriber and became one of the first UK prescribers of a medicine called tolvaptan used to treat a genetic kidney condition called autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD).
When the 100,000 genomes project launched, ADPKD was one of the eligible conditions for the study, and I was involved in recruiting participants from my clinic, seeing first-hand the positive impact receiving a genetic diagnosis could have for patients and their families.
When I saw the role of lead pharmacist for the South East Genomic Medicine Service, I took a leap of faith into a completely new role for a pharmacist and have never looked back.
What does a typical day in your role look like?
I no longer work “hands-on” with medicines and prescriptions and so my role is not what most people would expect for a pharmacist.
Instead, I apply my specialist knowledge about medicines and genomics to design and deliver safe and effective prescribing pathways. This includes defining standards for testing, reporting and interpreting genetic results that impact the choice and use of medicines. I am involved with writing and publishing guidelines, educational resources, and patient information.
I also work closely with the genomics laboratory to ensure that the testing technology and processes meet the needs of the NHS both now and in the future.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
From an early age I have always loved science and finding out “why”. My favourite part of my job is the continuous learning – the increased understanding of the genomic basis for disease and health that we now have just blows my mind every day!
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in your field?
Working in pharmacy is a fantastic career that offers many varied fields of practice from community (high street) pharmacy to hospitals to the pharmaceutical industry.
To become a pharmacist then a degree in pharmacy (MPharm) is required, however there are many other roles within pharmacy that don’t require a degree such as pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants.
My advice for a fulfilling career would be to keep learning and taking opportunities, don’t be afraid to try something new – your skills and experience are often transferrable to many different fields of practice.
