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Contact Details

Email
mira.harrison-woolrych@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Research Coordinator
Department
Department of Women's and Children's Health (Dunedin)
Qualifications
BM (Soton) DM (Soton) DFFP, FRCOG, FISoP
Research summary
Growth factors in uterine fibroids; women’s medicines, contraception; pharmacoepidemiology, nationwide cohort studies of IUDs; international pharmacovigilance; assessment of pre-licensing clinical trials; medical ethics.
Memberships
  • Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • International Society of Pharmacovigilance
  • NZ Society of Authors

Research

Mira trained as an obstetrician and gynaecologist in the UK and undertook research on uterine fibroids at Cambridge University during the 1990s. She subsequently worked in medicines regulation (specialising in contraception and HRT) and pharmacovigilance (monitoring the safety of medicines and devices).

From 2002 to 2013 Mira was the Director of the NZ Intensive Medicines Monitoring Programme (IMMP) at Otago University. She continued to work in pharmacovigilance internationally after the IMMP closed and has written two pharmacovigilance text books: Medicines for Women and An Introduction to Pharmacovigilance.

In 2019, Mira was elected as the first female President of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance. In Aotearoa, she is a longstanding member of the Southern Health and Disability Ethics Committee (HDEC).

Mira’s research interests continue to focus on the efficacy and safety of women’s medicines in the Western Pacific region and internationally.

Publications

Rowlands, S., & Harrison-Woolrych, M. (2023). Improving access to medicines for early medical abortion: Learning from experiences of medicines licensing and service delivery. BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 49, 234, 237. doi: 10.1136/bmjsrh-2023-201949 Journal - Research Other

McCarthy, D., Bahri, P., Barnes, J., Delumeau, J.-C., Edwards, B., & Harrison-Woolrych, M. (2018). An update on ISoP special interest groups (SIGs). Drug Safety, 41(1), 1-6. doi: 10.1007/s40264-017-0603-5 Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Barnes, J., Sheridan, J., Harrison-Woolrych, M., Dong, C., Härmark, L., & Vohra, S. (2017). Towards web-based, purchase-event intensive monitoring for pharmacovigilance of natural health products (NHPs): Lessons from development work. Drug Safety, 40(10), (pp. 951-952). doi: 10.1007/s40264-017-0580-8 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Harrison-Woolrych, M. (2015). Mental health effects of varenicline: Results from a new meta-analysis seem at odds with patients' real life experiences. BMJ, 350, h1168. doi: 10.1136/bmj.h1168 Journal - Research Other

Harrison-Woolrych, M. (2015). Medicines for women: Medicines for half the world. In M. Harrison-Woolrych (Ed.), Medicines for women. (pp. 3-40). Springer. Chapter in Book - Research

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