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Tá Gaeilge agam. Tá Gaeilge agam.       
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Dr. Deirdre D'Arcy

Associate Professor (Pharmacy)
25/6/7 WESTLAND ROW
Tá Gaeilge agam. Tá Gaeilge agam.       
Profile Photo

Dr. Deirdre D'Arcy

Associate Professor (Pharmacy)
25/6/7 WESTLAND ROW

 ddarcy@tcd.ie

 3531896 2785


Deirdre D'Arcy (M Pharm, PhD, MPSI); Deirdre is a qualified pharmacist (1999) and holds post graduate diplomas in both Clinical Pharmacy and Quality Improvement, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology. She is a registered pharmacist with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the General Pharmaceutical Council (UK). After spending 3 years training as a specialist clinical pharmacist, during which time she developed an interest in Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Deirdre spent some time in community pharmacy. Following this she undertook a PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology, exploring methods to mathematically simulate pharmaceutical processes. Concurrently, she undertook a diploma in quality improvement and also worked part-time as a community pharmacist. She embarked on her academic career in 2005, in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) TCD. This unique combination and breadth of experiences, and her professional status as a qualified, registered pharmacist, has equipped Deirdre with a distinctly valuable perspective on the interplay between clinical aspects of pharmacy practice and the use of pharmaceutical technology in medicines development. This extensive background has facilitated a range of teaching roles, didactic and experiential, at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Furthermore, it has enabled her to develop and lead the novel role of Integration Co-ordinator for the new Pharmacy (Integrated) Programme, promoting integrative teaching and learning between core science, clinical, and experiential learning; and the embedding of graduate attributes and competences within the curriculum. Context for Integration Co-ordinator role: The new Pharmacy (Integrated) Programme (first intake 2015) results from a change in the national pharmacy education requirements of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. A minimum of 12 months experiential placement-based learning, which used to take place post-graduation and before pharmacist registration, is now integrated within the core 5-year academic programme. Thus the new Pharmacy (Integrated) programme represents a mammoth shift in educational delivery by the SOPPS, with significantly different, advanced programme learning outcomes. Formal, structured integration of campus-based and experiential placement-based learning was thus novel to SOPPS pharmacy education. Furthermore, modern pedagogical perspectives on education in all health care settings have a focus on the integration of core science learning with more applied therapeutics/clinical learning content. Deirdre has been involved in 3 International EU-funded educational projects (Institutional lead on one of these), prompting innovations in Technology Enhanced Learning and assessment methodologies. These roles and innovations are fully aligned with the recommendations of the Trinity Education Project. Deirdre is also an active researcher, again supported by her unique combined experience of Patient-Facing practice and Pharmaceutical Technology. Current research includes 2 main strands: 1: Application of computational modelling and simulation techniques in pharmacy and pharmaceutical technology to improve processes and practice, including pharmacokinetic and dissolution modelling 2: Clinically relevant drug development and delivery to special populations. She was an academic PI on several clinical PK research projects in collaboration with associated teaching hospital She is involved in several international collaborations, with relevance to access to medicines and personalised medicines. Research outputs have resulted in peer reviewed publications, invited presentations at national and international level, partaking in national policy submission groups, and tangible outputs in the form of changes to medicines dosing policy and software development. Research funding sources include IRCSET, the Meath Foundation, Pharmaceutical Industry.
  ANTIBIOTICS   CLINICAL PHARMACOKINETICS   COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD)   COMPUTER MODELING AND SIMULATION   DISSOLUTION   DISSOLUTION MECHANISMS   DISSOLUTION RATES   DISSOLUTION TESTING   Dosage Forms   Drug Delivery Systems   FORMULATIONS   Methods of Drug Delivery   PHARMACODYNAMICS   Pharmacokinetics   Pharmacotherapy   PK/PD   STERILE
Project Title
 An investigation to determine an appropriate teicoplanin dosage regimen for the treatment of Gram-positive infection in patients with haematological malignancy.
From
March 2012
To
Summary
Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic that has bactericidal activity against aerobic and anaerobic Gram-positive bacteria including multi-resistant staphylococci. Along with vancomycin, it has become one of the treatments of choice for Gram-positive sepsis, including infections caused by meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Teicoplanin has a structure and spectrum of activity similar to that of vancomycin but its pharmacokinetic properties are quite distinct. For these reasons, teicoplanin is often the preferred choice over vancomycin for the treatment of Gram-positive infection in patients with haematological malignancy. Despite this, specific dosage guidelines and an appropriate target trough level for this patient group have not been determined. Higher doses have been suggested for patients with haematological malignancy, but increasing the dose not only increases the risk of adverse effects but also reduces the cost-effectiveness when compared to vancomycin. Therefore, most patients with haematological malignancy continue to receive standard doses of teicoplanin and therapeutic drug monitoring is not widely practised. As patients with haematological malignancy are at high risk for developing severe Gram-positive infections, underdosing of teicoplanin is of great concern. The aims of this project are to determine current teicoplanin prescribing practices, to investigate whether certain clinical or patient factors contribute to efficacy or toxicity of teicoplanin or to trough levels attained, and to conduct a prospective trial to determine pharmacokinetic characteristics of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy. Phase 1, a survey of teicoplanin practice in all Irish/UK haematology services, was completed in June 2013. Findings revealed that the majority of hospitals rely on the manufacturer's standard dosage regimen rather than therapeutic drug monitoring as an indicator for therapeutic dosing and that local practices lack a clear evidence base. Data gathering for Phase 2, a retrospective study of teicoplanin dosage and clinical outcomes in teicoplanin-treated patients with haematological malignancy at Tallaght Hospital, was completed in November 2013. Results suggested a positive relationship between teicoplanin concentration and treatment outcome. Findings also suggested a risk of underexposure if conventional doses of teicoplanin are used in patients with haematological malignancy. A model was developed for dosage optimisation of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy. Nephrotoxicity analysis suggested that teicoplanin is well tolerated at the renal level. Phase 3, a clinical trial to determine the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy, was commenced in subjects in March 2014.
Funding Agency
Meath Foundation (In collaboration with Tallaght hospital Haematology and PHarmacy departments).
Programme
PhD
Project Type
PhD
Project Title
 Simulation of dissolution rate profiles of pharmaceutical systems
From
October 2008
To
Present
Summary
This project involves the development of software code which allows generation of a simulated profile of particles dissolving over time. It includes simulation of dissolution under a range of pharmaceutical industry-standard test conditions. Dissolution testing is a routine testing process in the pharmaceutical industry. Both instrumentation and operational characteristics of the dissolution test are rigidly defined. It is a recognised problem that dissolution results can fall out of specification,suggesting that a drug is being released too slowly or too quickly. These out of specification results could be due to (unintentional) changes in many stages of the manufacturing process, or could be as a result of a change in the operation or specifications of the dissolution testing apparatus itself. Existing solutions concern either running experimental tests, or use of certain dissolution theory and models, which do not always take the detailed operational characteristics of the test procedure into account. This technology allows insight into effects of the testing conditions on the dissolution rate, without having to run real-time dissolution tests to check each effect.
Project Type
MSc plus continuing PI research
Project Title
 A clinical pharmacokinetic evaluation of amphotericin B lipid complex in critically ill patients
From
October 2008
To
July 2013
Summary
Amphotericin B lipid complex (ABLC) has been used extensively to treat proven or suspected severe fungal infections. In this project, the effect of continuous renal replacement therapy - continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) on the pharamcokinetics of ABLC in critically ill patients was examined. Sixteen patients (21 profiles) were recruited to the study; 9 profiles undergoing CVVHDF and 12 profiles not undergoing CVVHDF, during their ABLC treatment. Non compartmental analysis was performed to calculate the following PK parameters of AMB: clearance (Cl), volume of distribution at steady state (Vss) and half life (t1/2). In the current study, wide variability was observed in both intra- and inter-patient PK of AMB, after the administration of ABLC. Multiexponential kinetics of AMB, after the administration of ABLC, were also observed. The median values of Cl, Vss and t1/2 calculated within a sampling interval of AMB were determined to be 27 L/h and 44 L/h, 1500 L and 2000 L, 34 hours and 33 hours for patients undergoing CVVHDF and not undergoing CVVHDF respectively. No statistical difference was found between PK parameters of AMB in patients undergoing and not undergoing CVVHDF. Also, the maximum amount cleared by CVVHDF was less than 1% of ABLC dose. Statistically significant relationships were observed between Vss and albumin and C reactive protein (CRP), where a decrease in albumin and an increase in CRP levels were related to an increase in Vss. In addition, a trend effect was demonstrated where an increase in the daily dose of noradrenaline administered was related to an increase in plasma AMB concentrations.
Funding Agency
In collaboration with the ICU, Tallaght hospital (part funded by Cephalon Ireland Ltd).
Programme
PhD
Project Title
 Effect of hydrodynamics in the USP apparatus 4 on dissolution/drug release rates
From
October 2007
To
July 2012
Summary
The dissolution rates of model compounds of low- to intermediate-solubility were examined under conditions of no forced convection (natural convection) and at low flow rates in the USP 4 dissolution apparatus (Flow-through apparatus). The hydrodynamics of the flow-through apparatus were simulated using the CFD software, Fluent. The effect of low, time-dependent fluid velocities on dissolution was being examined, in particular with relevance to the estimated magnitude of fluid velocities in the GI tract. The effect of natural convection was found to have a signfiicant impact on dissolution rate under low velocity conditions.
Funding Agency
IRCSET
Programme
Post-graduate scholarship

Details Date
Member of USP Expert Panel in Product Performance Testing 2019-
Member of accreditation committee for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme for Pharmacists 2011/12 -2012/13
Irish Institute of Pharmacy: Member of Peer Review Panel for Assessment of CPD Programmes December 2014 to present
Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP): Member of working group for IIOP submission to National Maternity Strategy 2015
Committee for Women's Health group, United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association 2016 to 2020
Regular peer-reviewer for relevant scientific and clinical journal (13) 2009 to present
External examiner -PhD thesis - University of Barcelona 2017
External examiner- MSc thesis - University of Western Cape, South Africa 2016
Adjudicator at Hospital Pharmacy Association of Ireland (HPAI) annual meeting -poster competition 2011
Member of the Accreditation Working Group for the Five-Year Integrated Pharmacy Programme 2014-present
Institutional Lead -PQPharm (Postgraduate Qualification in Pharmacy) International educational project funded under the the EU Tempus Programme 2009-2013
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Basic Medium
Irish Fluent Fluent Fluent
Details Date From Date To
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland 2002 Present
United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association 2009 2021
General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC-UK) 1999 Present
Deirdre M D'Arcy, AI image analysis and simulation to characterize dissolution of suspended systems in the USP 4 flow-through apparatus- focus on viscous effects., DissoIndia, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, July 2024, 2024, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Harahsheh MM, Mukattash TL, Al-Shatnawi SF, Abu-Farha RK, D'Arcy DM, Jarab AS, Abuhammad SH., Community Pharmacists' Identifying and Counseling of Breastfeeding Women: A Study from Jordan., Korean journal of family medicine, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Taseva AR, Persoons T, Healy AM, D'Arcy DM., Application of shadowgraph imaging (SGI) particle characterisation data to interpret the impact of varying test conditions on powder dissolution and to develop an automated agglomeration identification method (AIM) in the USP flow-through apparatus., International journal of pharmaceutics, 666, 2024, p124778 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Fotaki, Nikoletta, D"Arcy, Deirdre, Demuth, James, Hermans, Andre, Lu, Xujin, Nir, Ishai, Scheubel, Emmanuel, Skwierczynski, Raymond, In Vitro Product Performance Testing of Oral Drug Products: View of the USP Expert Panel, Dissolution Technologies, 31, (3), 2024, p110-121 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Sabina Mason, Evelyn Deasy, Maria Donnelly, Deirdre M D'Arcy,Julio L Chevarria,Yvelynne P Kelly, Troponin Clearance via Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapies in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, ASN Kidney Week, San Diego, CA, USA, October 23-27 20224, 35, 2024, pp164 - 165, Notes: [TH-PO224], Meeting Abstract, PUBLISHED
Boyd Sean Sabina Mason Sean Griffin Colm Keane Eoin Begley Evelyn Deasy Maria Donnelly Julio Chevarria Deirdre M. D'Arcy Yvelynne P. Kelly, Troponin clearance via continuous renal replacement therapies in the ICU, 133, (4), 2024, pp921 , Notes: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2024.07.004], Meeting Abstract, PUBLISHED  DOI
Hannah Cleary, Nikoletta Fotaki, Deirdre M D"Arcy, Biopharmaceutics modelling to explore target dissolution profiles of long acting injectable suspensions, PharmSci International Conference 2024, UK, 2024, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Hannah Cleary, Tim Persoons, Nikoletta Fotaki, Deirdre M D'Arcy, Exploring particle behaviour during dissolution testing of long-acting injectable suspensions- a potential role for image analysis, PharmSci360, Utah, USA, 2024, Poster, PRESENTED
Mea'ad M Harahsheh and Tareq L Mukattash and Samah Al-shatnawi and Rana Abu-Farha and Deirdre D'Arcy and Anan Jarab and Sawsan Abuhammad, Breastfeeding friendly pharmacy from pharmacists perspective, Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 20, (3), 2023, pem469 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Taseva AR, Persoons T, D'Arcy DM., Application of an AI image analysis and classification approach to characterise dissolution and precipitation events in the flow through apparatus., European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V, 2023, pS0939-6411(23)00108-X , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

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Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Matthias G. Wacker, Sandra Klein, Vivek Shah, Matthew D. Burke, Gregory Hunter, and Hao Xu, In-Vitro Product Performance of Parenteral Drug Products: View of the USP Expert Panel , Dissolution Technologies, Nov, 2022, p204 - 218, Notes: [dx.doi.org/10.14227/DT290422P204], Journal Article, PUBLISHED
O'Dwyer M, Ryan T, Ryder S, D'Arcy DM, Walsh J. , Innovative Development and Evaluation of Professional Attributes through Integration of Science and Practice at First Year Pharmacy Level , Irish Network of Healthcare Educators Conference, TBSI, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland , February 2020, 2020, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Deirdre D'Arcy, UKCPA: Medication while breastfeeding, Pharmacy Magazine, 28th September, 2018, p(Extend your learning) , Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Deirdre M D'Arcy, Simulation and Comparison of Hydrodynamics in Compendial Dissolution Apparatuses Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), USP Workshop on Computer Modeling - In vitro and In vivo Studies, USP Meetings Center, Rockville, MD USA, October 23-25, 2017, 2017, US Pharmacopeial Convention, Invited Talk, ACCEPTED
Munshi R, O'Keeffe H, Coyle M, Deasy E, Lavin P, Donnelly M, D'Arcy DM., Exploring population pharmacokinetic models in patients treated with vancomycin during continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) on different anticoagulant modalities. , 39th All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy Conference, Cork, Ireland, April 24-25, 2017, 2017, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Byrne CJ, Roberts JA, McWhinney B, Ryder SA, Fennell JP, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Egan S, Enright H, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, Population pharmacokinetics of teicoplanin and attainment of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets in adult patients with haematological malignancy, Trinity College Dublin: Faculty of Health Sciences Research Day, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 15 September 2016, 2016, Poster, PRESENTED
Byrne CJ, McWhinney B, Roberts JA, Fennell JP, Egan S, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Enright H, Ryder SA, McHugh J, D'Arcy DM, Pharmacokinetic analysis of teicoplanin in patients with haematological malignancy, 37th All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy Research Seminar, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 30-31 March 2015, 2015, Poster, PRESENTED
Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, McHugh J, 'A prospective, single-centre, cohort study to determine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of teicoplanin in adult patients with haematological malignancy', Dublin, Ireland, 2014, -, Notes: [Clinical Trial protocol authorised by Irish Medicines Board January 2014], Protocol or guideline, APPROVED
Byrne C, McHugh J, Egan S, Fennell JP, Enright H, O'Byrne P, Deasy E, Ryder SA, D'Arcy DM, Teicoplanin dosage in haematological malignancy: Is it time to reconsider?, 36th All Ireland Schools of Pharmacy Research Seminar, Dublin, Ireland, 14-15 April 2014, 2014, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED
Catherine J. Byrne, Sheila A. Ryder, Jerome P. Fennell, Philomena O'Byrne, Evelyn Deasy, Sean Egan, Helen Enright, Deirdre M. D'Arcy, Johnny McHugh, Teicoplanin dosing in haematological malignancy - is it time to reconsider?, TBSI annual symposium, Dublin, May 2014, 2014, Oral Presentation, PRESENTED

  


Page 1 of 2
Award Date
Sotax Award for Dissolution Innovation September 2010
Tocher Medal from Robert Gordon University 1st place final year pharmacy exams July 1998
My research interests can be presented as 2 main themes: 1. Application of computational modelling and simulation techniques in pharmacy and pharmaceutical technology, to improve processes and practice. I have used a number of different computational modelling and simulation approaches and packages in 2 main contexts: A) Clinical Pharmacokinetics: Clinical pharmacokinetics (PK) involves modelling the time course of a medicine in the body, in order to understand the medicine's journey through the body. This then facilitates design of optimal dosing regimens (dose and interval) to achieve therapeutic goals. My clinical PK work to date has focussed on optimising antibiotic use. I am the academic PI for the Clinical Pharmacokinetics Research Group, a collaboration with Tallaght Hospital. I have worked with both the Intensive Care Unit and Haematology Departments, and the hospital Pharmacy Department. B) Pharmaceutical Drug Development: My modelling and simulation in Pharmaceutical Drug Development has focussed on dissolution modelling. Dissolution testing involves determination of the rate and extent of drug dissolution and release from any dosage form. It is an essential component of early stage drug formulation development, and also quality control (QC). Of global research interest are i) the development of dissolution testing methodologies which best reflect the in vivo environment for drug release, to support early stage formulation development, and ii) understanding sources of variability in dissolution testing to minimise risk of failure to meet specifications in QC testing of manufactured batches. I have developed significant expertise in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of fluid dynamics within different dissolution test apparatuses, assisting determination of sources of variability from a QC perspective and also in vivo relevant dissolution method development. Furthermore, I have co-developed a dissolution simulation package with Dr. Tim Persoons (Dept. of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, TCD). We have accompanied this simulation package with a novel investigational tool for visualisation of dissolution, based on the principles of shadowgraph imaging. 2. Clinically relevant drug development and delivery to special populations. The dual concepts of access to medicines and personalised medicines are highly relevant in today's global pharmaceutical environment. Based on a combination of my clinical and pharmaceutical technology experience and expertise, my research addresses both of these concepts.Relevant international collaborations include those with Cambridge University and University of Bath, UK, exploring the development of dissolution and drug release testing methodologies which will support drug development for two specific populations: critically ill patients and neonates/infants. My collaboration with Cambridge University focussed on the development of a dissolution testing environment from a nipple shield designed specifically with the aim of drug delivery to neonates while breastfeeding. My collaboration with University of Bath focusses on the development of dissolution testing for lipid-based parenteral formulations, with the dissolution medium representing the characteristics of plasma in critically ill patients. Of topical significance is my collaboration with the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and the School of Medicine, TCD, investigating the role of pharmacokinetic "boosting" drugs in reducing dosing (cost) of expensive medicines. Finally I have had an intereset in investigating the potential for provision of breastfeeding support in a community pharmacy environment. Primarily this focusses on support for medication use (in either baby or mother) during breastfeeding, but with a general health promotion angle also.