Sir Munir Pirmohamed is a preeminent leader in clinical pharmacology and personalized medicine whose work has fundamentally reshaped pharmacogenomics and drug safety practices globally. He currently holds the prestigious David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool and serves as the United Kingdom's only NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, a position he has held since 2007. After completing his medical studies at the University of Liverpool from 1980 to 1985, he earned a PhD in pharmacology in 1993 and established his clinical career as a consultant physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in 1996. He has held numerous influential leadership positions including Director of the Centre for Drug Safety Sciences, Director of the Wolfson Centre for Personalised Medicine, and Executive Director of Liverpool Health Partners, significantly advancing translational research infrastructure in the UK.
His groundbreaking research in pharmacogenomics has transformed clinical practice through the development and implementation of genetic testing to prevent serious adverse drug reactions. His seminal work demonstrating that HLA-B*57:01 genotyping would be cost-effective in preventing abacavir hypersensitivity led to its global implementation in 2006, resulting in the virtual elimination of this life-threatening reaction worldwide. With over 420 peer-reviewed publications and an impressive H-index of 85, his research spans cardiovascular medicine, drug hypersensitivity, and personalized prescribing across multiple therapeutic areas. His leadership in chairing the 2022 report Personalised Prescribing for the Royal College of Physicians of London and the British Pharmacological Society has been instrumental in establishing the framework for pharmacogenomics implementation within the UK National Health Service.
As an inaugural National Institute for Health and Care Research Senior Investigator and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, he has profoundly influenced national healthcare policy through his roles as Commissioner on Human Medicines and non-executive director of NHS England. His directorship of HDR North within Health Data Research UK demonstrates his commitment to leveraging health data science for advancing personalized medicine across the United Kingdom. He continues to innovate through novel trial designs and research methodologies aimed at furthering the field of stratified medicine and optimizing the risk-benefit profile of pharmacological treatments for diverse patient populations. His ongoing work focuses on translating genomic discoveries from laboratory to clinic, establishing protocols that ensure pharmacogenomic testing becomes standard practice for improving drug efficacy while minimizing toxicity across healthcare systems worldwide.
