Symposium 6: From Trial-and-Error to Precision: Pharmacogenomic-Guided Medication Use in Mental Health Care
Tracks
Track 2
Thursday, December 11, 2025 |
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
Details
Prescribing of psychotropic medications for mental health diagnoses has long been a “trial-and-error” approach guided by broad guideline recommendations, clinical indicators, and, subsequently, patient response and tolerability to treatment. Many patients require several trials before finding an effective medication they can tolerate. This approach oftentimes results in a delay in the control of symptoms or exposes patients to intolerable side effects. Pharmacogenomic testing provides a strategy to improve the likelihood of choosing safe and effective psychotropic medications. This session will focus on the experiences and preliminary outcomes from landmark clinical trials evaluating the clinical utility of pharmacogenomic-guided prescribing of medications used to treat mental health conditions in Australia. It will also cover practical aspects of implementing pharmacogenomic testing such as adequacy of the test/reports and the economic value of testing.
Speaker
A/Prof Kathy Wu
St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney
Translating pharmacogenomics and precision dosing in major depressive disorder: the ALIGNED study
Biography
A/Professor Kathy Wu is the founding Head of St Vincent's Clinical Genomics, a HGSA-certified Clinical Geneticist, physician scientist, and educator. Kathy is a senior staff specialist at St Vincent’s Public & Private Hospitals and St Vincent’s Clinic, with academic affiliations with the UNSW, University of Sydney, University of Notre Dame Australia, the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and the George Institute for Global Health. Kathy is committed to translating genomics research to inform precision healthcare and improving individual and categorical patient outcomes. Kathy is one of the clinician pioneers in Australia to lead a real-world pharmacogenomics implementation body of research and has been awarded $6 million+ in MRFF Research Grants since 2020 to continue her passion in pharmacogenomics research to improve treatment outcomes for people with Major Depressive Disorder.
Dr Sibel Saya
Research Fellow
The University of Melbourne
PRESIDE Trial: Providing pharmacogenomic-guided antidepressant medication information to patients with mild-to-severe depressive symptoms
Biography
A/Prof Luke Hesson
Department manager - Genetics
Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology
The science of delivering pharmacogenomic test results to guide prescribing in Australia
Biography
Prof Christine Lu
Clinical Chair of Pharmacy, Royal North Shore Hospital
University Of Sydney
The value proposition: Is pharmacogenomic-guided prescribing of medicines to treat mental health conditions economically sound?
Biography
Christine Lu, MSc, PhD is a Professor at the Sydney Pharmacy School and Chair of Clinical Pharmacy at Northern Sydney Local Health District. A pharmacist, health policy scientist, and pharmacoepidemiologist, she holds an MSc in Biopharmaceuticals and a PhD from the University of New South Wales. Dr. Lu completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, where she later served as Associate Professor at both Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute before joining the University of Sydney.
Internationally recognised for her impactful research, Dr. Lu’s work addresses critical clinical pharmacy and health system challenges. Her research focuses on:
1. The effects of health policies and programs on medication use and outcomes;
2. Access to and quality use of pharmacogenomic testing and genomic sequencing; and
3. The use, access, and outcomes of high-cost medicines.
• Academic Profile: https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/our-people/academic-staff/christine-lu.html
Chair
Sam Mostafa
Clinical Director
myDNA Life Australia
Sophie Stocker
The University Of Sydney
