Course overview

This course will offer participants a grounding in the technology and application of genomic science, enabling them to appreciate the findings of genomics clinical reports and their impact on treatment, prognostics, and family screening. The use of pharmacogenomics to facilitate drug choice, dose adjustment, and the avoidance of adverse drug reactions will also be covered. 

The Genomics Primer 4 Pharmacy course is specifically designed for Pharmacy staff and will cover the recent change in accessing over the counter genomics tests and the implications of this from a pharmacy / prescribing perspective. 

This in-person CPD course is being held at the University of Southampton. Participants will gain a grounding in the technology and application of genomic science, enabling them to appreciate the findings of genomics clinical reports and their impact on treatment, prognostics, and family screening. The use of pharmacogenomics to facilitate drug choice, dose adjustment, and the avoidance of adverse drug reactions will also be covered. 

This course also addresses the specific issues for pharmacists surrounding informed consent for tests that impact an individual patient and their wider family group. Starting with a primer in genomics, the course moves into providing the tools that will be required by pharmacists to support customers wanting over the counter genomic testing that will shortly be available.

Learning

The learning outcomes for this course are to:

  • understand basic genome structure or architecture
  • relate how genetic variation identified through sequencing can impact protein to cause disease
  • recognise alternative variant types and explain their potential to cause disease
  • identify typical inheritance patterns in families
  • summarise key attributes of alternative contemporary genomic sequencing approaches
  • understand the concepts of genomic sequencing alignment, calling and annotation
  • interpret a clinical genomics diagnostics report
  • appreciate ethical issues concerning informed consent, incidental findings, and relevance of personal diagnoses to extended pedigree members

At the end of this course, you’ll receive a certificate stating the number of learning hours you have carried out.

Course details

  • Date: Monday 15 January 2024
  • Time: 09:00 to 17:30
  • Duration: 7 learning hours
  • Fee: £200
  • Location: Highfield Campus, University of Southampton

About the speakers

Sarah Ennis, Professor of Genomics at the University of Southampton 

Professor Ennis has worked in the field of genetic epidemiology for over 20 years and runs the Human Genomic Informatics (HGI) Group dry laboratory, which specialises in the analysis of NGS data in clinical cohorts. She has published over 150 papers focusing on underpinning the molecular genetic basis of human rare and common disease.  

Sarah is also chief investigator of cohort studies which recruit NHS patients and lead projects analysing Genomics England and UKBioBank data. In her role as Research Director for the Genomics Medicine Service Alliance, she facilitates clinical research pathways to optimise patient genomic data for better health outcomes. 

Dr Hayley Wickens, Consultant Pharmacists, Genomic Medicine 

Dr Wickens joined the NHS Central and South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance in 2021 as a Consultant Pharmacist, having completed an MSc in Genomic Medicine in 2018. But her interest in bacterial genetics stretches back to her PhD in 2000.  

Hayley has spent most of her career as an infection specialist pharmacist and has held committee and advisory roles for the DH, RPS, UKCPA, CPA and internationally, was an editor for JAC. She was awarded RPS Faculty Fellowship in 2015 and FRPharmS in 2023 and is passionate about education and workforce development, having worked at HEE in pharmacist training and as a current member of the GPhC undergraduate course Accreditation Panel.

For further information and details with how to apply, please follow this link.