Rate My Professor Joyce Cooper

Dr Joyce Cooper is a Conjoint Senior Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy at the University of Newcastle. A registered pharmacist with over 25 years of experience in pharmacy, she initially worked as a hospital pharmacist in the UK and Australia, progressing to clinical pharmacist roles and Director of Pharmacy in tertiary hospitals. She maintains an interest in community pharmacy practice and works occasionally as a locum pharmacist. Her academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Sunderland, a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Queensland, a PhD from the University of Newcastle on factors contributing to serotonin toxicity following drug overdose, and a Graduate Certificate in the Practice of Tertiary Teaching from the University of Newcastle. During her PhD, she collaborated with the Clinical Toxicology research group in the School of Medicine and Public Health, investigating pharmacokinetics of overdoses and toxic drug effects. She joined the University of Newcastle in an academic capacity in 2008 within the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, where she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy students, nurse practitioner students, and other prescribing health professionals. Since 2018, she has served as Program Convenor for the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) program and contributed to innovative teaching tools, including the development of a virtual pharmacy model for pharmacy education.

Dr Cooper's research specializations encompass quality use of medicines, adverse effects of medicines, clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice, hospital pharmacy, pharmacogenomics, toxicology including serotonin toxicity, and evaluation of pharmacy programs in community and hospital settings. Notable publications include 'Predicting serotonin toxicity in serotonin reuptake inhibitor overdose' (Clinical Toxicology, 2023), 'Antibiotics administered as continuous intravenous infusion over 24 hours by elastomeric devices to patients treated at home: a study of infusion efficiency' (Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, 2024), 'Student Acceptance of Using Augmented Reality Applications for Learning in Pharmacy: A Pilot Study' (Pharmacy, 2020), and recent articles on pharmacist roles in vaccinations for cancer patients and medication management for people with intellectual disabilities (International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 2025-2026). She held the position of President of the Pharmacy Council of NSW from 2018 to 2022, appointed by the Minister for Health, following her initial appointment as a member in 2015. In 2019, she was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, having been a member since 2005. Additionally, she served as Associate Professor in Pharmacy Practice at James Cook University from 2022 to 2025 and regularly reviews submissions for the annual Medicines Management Conference.