Newcastle University

Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics

Our group comprises both nonclinical and clinical academics with expertise in pharmacogenetics, toxicology, basic and clinical pharmacology and medical toxicology. Our membership includes members of the Medical Toxicology Centre and other ICM staff who together form the core membership of the Faculty Pharmacology, Therapeutics & Toxicology Research Group.

We aim to explore and understand the mechanisms of adverse effects of drug and chemical exposure in man, to understand genetic and environmental factors leading to interindividual susceptibility to xenobiotics, to identify novel biomarkers for disease relating to xenobiotic exposure and to perform translational studies using both in vitro approaches and human models.

In the chemical exposure research area an overarching goal is to address the clinical consequences of exposure to chemicals, understand the mechanisms of toxicity and susceptibility and apply evidence based clinical management. This parallels research on the adverse effect of drugs and their clinical management.

Our chemical exposure research programme covers the role of metabolism of pesticides and environmental chemicals in human toxicity and development of biomarkers of exposure and effect (Williams, Mutch); identification of biomarkers of chronic and delayed health effects (neurotoxic or genotoxic) associated with low level exposure to  environmental  chemicals (Blain, Williams, Jefferson); contribution of route of exposure, particularly dermal absorption, to toxicity (Williams, Wilkinson).

Our research into the adverse effects of drugs covers the areas of pharmacogenetics, pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology with projects in progress on the assessment of the  role of genetic polymorphisms in susceptibility to diseases linked to drug and xenobiotic exposure (Daly); mechanisms of liver disease and idiosyncratic drug reactions (Daly and Wright); thromboembolism and stroke and the influence of genetic, clinical and patient factors including diet outcomes of anticoagulation therapy with warfarin (Kamali and Daly); cardiovascular toxicity and adverse fetal effects (Thomas).