News
Fourth-year undergraduate student Sarah Barber wins best poster prize at the Irish Pharmacy Haematology Oncology Society (IPHOS) 2022 annual education meeting
Congratulations to fourth-year undergraduate student Sarah Barber on receiving the best poster prize at the Irish Pharmacy Haematology Oncology Society (IPHOS) 2022 annual education meeting held on 12 November 2022.
Sarah audited the testing of DPYD variant genes in UHW between June and September 2022. Testing for DPYD deficiency in patients starting fluoropyrimidine therapies was recommended by the EMA in April 2020, and is an essential medication safety step to prescribing these cytotoxic agents, used primarily to treat gastrointestinal and breast cancers. Sarah found excellent compliance with testing for genetic mutations of this gene, and that the incidence of DPYD genetic mutations in UHW was consistent with the reported rates of genetic variation in the literature. Sarah’s abstract was selected for an oral presentation at the Irish Pharmacy Haematology and Oncology Society (IPHOS) annual education meeting, where she won a prize for the best poster at the meeting, as voted for by the delegates.