Lydia Sutherland

Phd student (since 2026)

I am a PhD student in the Systems Medicine Group at the University of Liverpool. Alongside my doctoral studies, I continue to work as Principal Pharmacist for Oncology Research at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. I completed my MPharm at the University of Manchester in 2014, followed by an MRes in Experimental Cancer Medicine in 2020.

I have worked as an NHS clinical pharmacist for more than a decade, specialising in oncology research and experimental cancer medicine. At The Christie, I lead the pharmacy service supporting a large portfolio of phase I-III clinical trials. Following my MRes, I was awarded a competitive NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship, which enabled me to combine clinical practice with academic research and develop the foundation for my doctoral training.

Throughout my clinical career, I have seen patients with seemingly similar disease characteristics experience markedly different responses to the same systemic anticancer therapies. These observations sparked my interest in understanding the biological and pharmacological factors underlying treatment variability. I am particularly interested in the potential of AI-enabled pharmacometrics and systems approaches to improve predictions of treatment response and support more personalised cancer care. Looking ahead, I hope to establish a career as a clinical academic, integrating mechanistic PK/PD modelling with emerging computational approaches to help translate research into meaningful improvements in patient outcomes.