
Ms Myfanwy Graham
Associate Lecturer
School of Medicine and Public Health (Pharmacy and Experimental Pharmacology)
ACRE researcher awarded prestigious Fulbright scholarship
A pharmacist is the latest recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and the first in her field to be awarded the opportunity. Myfanwy Graham is a Research Associate with the Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence (ACRE).
Professor Jennifer Martin, Director of ACRE, said this influential opportunity puts Ms Graham’s career on an entirely new trajectory.
“The Fulbright Scholarship is held in high esteem by international researchers,” Professor Martin said.
“Myf is the first Australian in her field to be awarded this opportunity. We are immensely proud to see an Australian health researcher recognised by her international peers and, of course, proud that she is part of the team at ACRE and the University of Newcastle.”
For Ms Graham, the award is a significant achievement, consolidating years of work to implement ‘real-world projects’ that draw together leading researchers and showcase Australia’s research achievements.
“Building mutual research linkages between Australia and the United States helps to bring together leading researchers in this space and helps us deliver research results into clinical practice,” Ms Graham said.
“Our research looks at patient outcomes, current clinical practice, and policies and regulations in the U.S. and Australia. Strong research collaborations in the space have the potential to produce important change - not just clinically, but more broadly as well. When you have brilliant researchers working around the world, the impact of bringing them together can be immense.
“I want to help draw together the communities of researchers around the world to consolidate the dedicated work we all do and build on it so we can learn and share knowledge because, at the heart of it, it all comes back to the patient and the hope that translating this research can help patients and their families.”
In heading to the US in 2022, Ms Graham is retracing her mother’s footsteps.
“'As a child, I lived and attended school in the US for a year while my mother was working as an exchange teacher. It was then that I developed a life-long love of meeting people from different cultural backgrounds and this is a large part of why I am drawn to collaborative research in the US,” she said.
“A significant part of the Fulbright scholarship is the cultural ambassador component so my family will also have the opportunity to be immersed in a different culture and take on an ambassadorial role for Australia.”
Ms Graham will be heading to Los Angeles in 2022 and working with Professor Rosalie Pacula, the Elizabeth Garrett Chair in Health Policy, Economics Law in the Sol Price School of Public Policy, and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy Economics at the University of Southern California (USC).
- Myfanwy Graham will head to the U.S. in 2022 to undertake a binational comparison of medicinal cannabis policy and patient outcomes.
- Awardees take part in an academic and cultural exchange, pursuing research or study at a U.S. institution, experiencing life abroad and bringing back their knowledge and experience to share with their communities in Australia.
- Established in 1945, a Fulbright award is more than a scholarship – it is, in the words of Senator Fulbright, a means of fostering “leadership, learning, and empathy between cultures… It is a modest program with an immodest aim – the achievement in international affairs of a regime more civilised, rational and humane than the empty system of power of the past.”
ACRE researcher awarded prestigious Fulbright scholarship
Myfanwy Graham is Principal Specialist Medicines Information Pharmacist for the NSW Cannabis Medicines Advisory Service and researcher with the Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence (ACRE).
Career Summary
Biography
Collaborative research with impact
Myfanwy is an associate investigator with the Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence (ACRE) a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence. Myfanwy has collaboratively developed several medicinal cannabis research projects and contributed to a suite of NSW cannabis medicine prescribing guidance documents.
Myfanwy's research interests include medicinal cannabis, medical and allied health professional education, pharmacovigilance, and personalised medicine.
Clinical role - Knowledge translation
Myfanwy was the principal specialist medicines information pharmacist of the New South Wales Cannabis Medicines Advisory Service (CMAS) that operated between 2018 and mid-2022, a first of kind in the world, Australian State government-funded cannabis medicines advisory service for health professionals. The service model, led by a clinical pharmacologist and pharmacist, provided comprehensive patient-specific and evidence-based information to support health professionals in prescribing and patient-care decisions. Under this leadership, the service delivered sustained, exceptional outcomes and gained national and international recognition. Myfanwy has collaboratively developed and provided subject matter expert review of national medicinal cannabis educational resources and state prescribing guidance documents.
Multidisciplinary teaching experience
Myfanwy has worked in multi-disciplinary health professional training and education since 2009. Myfanwy primarily teaches into the Joint Medical Program in the areas of Problem Based Learning and Clinical Skills. Myfanwy also delivers pharmacology lectures in allied health degrees.
Qualifications
- Master of Pharmacy, University of Newcastle
Keywords
- cannabinoids
- cannabis medicines
- health professional education
- personalised medicine
- pharmacology
- pharmacovigilance
Fields of Research
Code | Description | Percentage |
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321403 | Clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice | 20 |
321402 | Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics | 60 |
321406 | Pharmacogenomics | 20 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
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Associate Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Medicine and Public Health Australia |
Casual Web Learn Tutor Nursing & Midwifery | University of Newcastle School of Nursing and Midwifery Australia |
Academic appointment
Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
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1/1/2022 - | Research Associate | Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence Australia |
Membership
Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|---|
1/1/2006 - | Member - Pharmaceutical Society of Australia | Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Australia |
Teaching appointment
Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|---|
31/7/2018 - | Associate Lecturer in Medical Education | School of Medicine & Public Health, Faculty of Health & Medicine, University of Newcastle | Australia Australia |
1/1/2017 - 31/12/2021 | Sessional Academic | The University of Newcastle - School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy Australia |
31/3/2009 - 31/12/2016 | Associate Lecturer | School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle Australia |
Awards
Prize
Year | Award |
---|---|
2006 |
Faculty of Health Medal Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle |
2004 |
Academic Achievement Award Southern Cross University |
Professional
Year | Award |
---|---|
2020 |
NSW Regional Health Partners Knowledge Translation Fellowship NSW Regional Health Partners |
2020 |
Faculty of Health and Medicine ThinkWell EMCR Development Program for 2020 University of Newcastle |
Research Award
Year | Award |
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2021 |
SMPH ECR/MCR Best New Project Award University of Newcastle |
Scholarship
Year | Award |
---|---|
2021 |
Fulbright NSW Postgraduate Scholarship Australian-American Fulbright Association |
2000 |
Vice Chancellor's Scholarship Southern Cross University |
Invitations
Interviewee
Year | Title / Rationale |
---|---|
2021 | Medicinal cannabis research - ABC Radio Newcastle |
Panel Participant
Year | Title / Rationale |
---|---|
2022 | RSMj 6th Annual Meeting |
2020 | ACRE Annual Scientific Meeting Panel Participant |
2019 | The 2nd International Annual Congress on Controversies on Cannabis-Based Medicines |
Speaker
Year | Title / Rationale |
---|---|
2022 | The 3rd International Annual Congress on Controversies on Cannabis-Based Medicines |
2021 | ConPharm 2021 17th Annual Consultant Clinical Pharmacy Seminar |
2021 | Renal Society of Australasia 2021 Annual Conference |
2018 | National Directors of Pharmacy Forum |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Conference (5 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
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2019 |
Graham M, Lucas C, Schneider J, Fizzell J, Brett J, Martin JH, 'Cannabis medicines - Absolutely Safe?', Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, Barcelona, Spain (2019)
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2019 |
Graham M, Lucas C, Galettis R, Martin J, 'Cannabis and Palliative Care Trials and Tribulations - on behalf of CARE NSW Investigators', London (2019)
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2019 |
Graham M, Williams A, Lucas C, Martin J, 'NSW Cannabis Medicine Advisory Service (CMAS) methodology and evolution', Queenstown, New Zealand (2019)
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2015 |
Daneshi N, Graham M, Holliday E, Schneider J, Kerr KP, Rasiah R, Attia J, Scott RJ, Milward AE, 'Clinically actionable pharmacogenomic variants in community-dwelling older Australians.', ASMR XXIII NSW Scientific Meeting: Programme and Abstracts (2015) [E3]
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Show 2 more conferences |
Journal article (21 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
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2025 |
Wilson J, Langcake A, Bryant Z, Freeman TP, Leung J, Chan GCK, Englund A, Graham M, Stockings E, 'The safety and efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis', Systematic Reviews, 14 (2025)
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2024 |
Dobson O, Barber M, Graham M, Carter A, Savic M, ''The wild west of medicine': A qualitative investigation of the factors influencing Australian health-care practitioners' delivery of medicinal cannabis', DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, 43, 1280-1293 (2024) [C1]
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2024 |
Kritikos AF, Graham M, Hodgkin D, Pacula RL, 'Medical Cannabis Dosing Trajectories of Patients: Evidence From Sales Data', Clinical Therapeutics (2024) [C1] Purpose: Medical cannabis use is rising with limited high-quality clinical trial data to guide dosing. This study relies on real-world, longitudinal medical cannabis purchase data... [more] Purpose: Medical cannabis use is rising with limited high-quality clinical trial data to guide dosing. This study relies on real-world, longitudinal medical cannabis purchase data to provide information on ¿-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) dosing trends for patients with qualifying medical conditions. Methods: A retrospective study of purchases by 16,727 patients obtaining medical cannabis from dispensaries located in New York between 2016 and 2019, recorded in point-of-sale data. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify clusters of patients following similar progressions in dosing of THC and CBD over time. ¿2 tests were performed to identify which patient characteristics and qualifying medical conditions were associated with membership in each trajectory group. Findings: Six trajectory groups were identified that described different patterns in the THC and CBD doses that patients purchased over the whole time period. For THC, the majority of patients (62.6%) purchased a steady amount but at different levels: consistently low (4.1 mg) or moderate (7.4 mg). Three groups, representing 22.0% together, exhibited doses that either fluctuate or constantly increase over time (5¿20 mg). A final group of patients (15.8%) exhibited constant decrease in dose from 11 to 5 mg. For CBD, the data show similar trajectories, but at the generally higher values (4¿16 mg). Patients with chronic pain, neuropathy, and cancer were overrepresented in groups where higher doses of THC were purchased over time. Patients with epilepsy had a higher representation in groups with higher doses of CBD across time. Implications: Results suggest heterogeneous dosing patterns and trajectories in the use of medical cannabis by patients with different medical conditions.
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2023 |
Graham M, Chiu V, Stjepanovic D, Hall W, 'A provisional evaluation of Australia's medical cannabis program', INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY, 122 (2023) [C1] In 2016, the Australian Government legislated to allow cannabis to be prescribed to patients as an unapproved medicine under the special access provisions of the Therapeutic Goods... [more] In 2016, the Australian Government legislated to allow cannabis to be prescribed to patients as an unapproved medicine under the special access provisions of the Therapeutic Goods Act. This paper compares the Australian regulatory approach with other national approaches, outlines the main provisions of the Special Access Scheme for medical cannabis, describes how the program has evolved since 2017, includes an analysis of adverse events reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and discusses the barriers that remain for patients who wish to access medical cannabis. It assesses how well the Australian program has addressed the challenges of providing patients with easier access to medical cannabis while ensuring that high-quality products are used safely and effectively under medical guidance.
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2023 |
Graham M, Renaud E, Lucas CJ, Schneider J, Martin JH, 'Medicinal Cannabis Guidance and Resources for Health Professionals to Inform Clinical Decision Making', CLINICAL THERAPEUTICS, 45, 527-534 (2023) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2022 |
Hallinan CM, Eden E, Graham M, Greenwood L-M, Mills J, Popat A, Truong L, Bonomo Y, 'Over the counter low-dose cannabidiol: A viewpoint from the ACRE Capacity Building Group', JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, 36, 661-665 (2022) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2022 |
Graham M, Martin JH, Lucas CJ, Murnion B, Schneider J, 'Cannabidiol drug interaction considerations for prescribers and pharmacists', EXPERT REVIEW OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, 15, 1383-1397 (2022) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2022 |
Graham M, Bird S, Howard Z, Dobson M, Palazzi K, Lucas CJ, Schneider J, Eagar K, Martin JH, 'NSW Cannabis Medicines Advisory Service preliminary survey results: enquirer perceptions and patient outcomes', INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, 52, 228-237 (2022) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2022 |
Lawson J, O'Brien T, Graham M, Renaud E, Jones D, Freeman J, Lawn N, Martin JH, 'Expert advice for prescribing cannabis medicines for patients with epilepsy-drawn from the Australian clinical experience', BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, 88, 3101-3113 (2022) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2022 |
Nielsen S, Picco L, Murnion B, Winters B, Matheson J, Graham M, Campbell G, Parvaresh L, Khor K-E, Betz-Stablein B, Farrell M, Lintzeris N, Le Foll B, 'Opioid-sparing effect of cannabinoids for analgesia: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical and clinical studies', NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, 47, 1315-1330 (2022) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2022 |
Erku D, Greenwood L-M, Graham M, Hallinan CM, Bartschi JG, Renaud E, Scuffham P, 'From growers to patients: Multi-stakeholder views on the use of, and access to medicinal cannabis in Australia', PLOS ONE, 17 (2022) [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | |||||||||
2015 |
Daneshi N, Graham ME, Milward ADRIENNEELIZABETHLIZ, 'An update on warfarin pharmacogenomics Part 1 of 2', Australian Pharmacist, 34 52-56 (2015) [C2]
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2015 |
Graham ME, Milward ADRIENNEELIZABETHLIZ, 'Pharmacogenomics, personalised healthcare and herbal medicine - a paradoxical combination?', Australian Pharmacist, (2015) [C3]
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2015 |
Daneshi N, Graham ME, Biswas M, Milward AE, 'Gene Scene - Health's New Frontier', Australian Pharmacist, (2015) [C2]
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Graham M, Eden E, Maddison K, Lago L, Allingham S, Lucas CJ, Schneider J, Martin JH, 'NSW cannabis medicines advisory service retrospective enquiry analysis to inform clinical guidance resource development', NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY REPORTS [C1]
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Open Research Newcastle | ||||||||||
Show 18 more journal articles |
Ms Myfanwy Graham
Positions
Associate Lecturer
School of Medicine and Public Health
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
Casual Web Learn Tutor Nursing & Midwifery
School of Nursing and Midwifery
College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing
Focus area
Pharmacy and Experimental Pharmacology
Contact Details
myfanwy.graham@newcastle.edu.au |
Office
Location | Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia |
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