Enter Elizabeth Phillips, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Director of the Centre for Clinical Pharmacology at Murdoch University’s Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases (iiid) and Director of Personalised Immunology at the Oates Institute of Experimental Therapeutics at Vanderbilt University.  

In 2006, Professor Phillips established the Centre for Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases, and she now leads the Drug Hypersensitivity Research Group, which is focussed on investigating the immunological mechanisms driving allergic reactions to certain drugs. 

Throughout her years of research, Professor Phillips has played a pivotal role in the discovery of variations in drug responses – particularly in the interactions between drugs and a person’s immune system – and has been a trailblazer in personalised medicine.  

Professor Phillips was one of the key researchers who established HLA-B*57:01 – a test that can determine if a person will have a reaction to HIV drug Abacavir.  

This was a breakthrough that would save lives.  

Her research uses cutting-edge technology to define genetic, molecular and cellular signatures which are correlated with adverse drug reactions.  

Severe cutaneous adverse reactions to drugs, such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN), carry high morbidity and mortality and are driven by genetic factors making them potentially preventable.