Dr Rose Cairns
Dr Rose Cairns is a Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney. She has a clinical role as Senior Poisons Specialist (Research and Audit) at the New South Wales Poisons Information Centre, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Her research interests include clinical toxicology, pharmacovigilance, toxicovigilance, severe adverse drug reactions, pharmaceutical misuse, medicines policy, and deliberate self-poisoning (self-harm overdose). Her overall goal is to reduce harm from poisoning.
Rose’s recent research has focused on identifying trends in poisonings and analysing the effect of drug policy and scheduling. This includes work on daily dosing errors with oral methotrexate, where Rose identified increasing poisonings in recent years, including several deaths. Her work resulted in changes to the manufacturer Product Information and Consumer Medicines Information for methotrexate, and a labelling change. Rose has also examined the effect of medicine up-scheduling on drug use and misuse (recent examples include studies on codeine and alprazolam). There are several opportunities for new projects in this area using poisons centre, dispensing, hospitalisation and coronial data.
Another of Rose’s interests is Poisons Information Centre service utilisation and impact. Australian Poisons Information Centres take calls from members of the public and healthcare professionals and can thus potentially reduce unnecessary hospitalisations, improve management, optimise antidote utilisation and minimise length of stay.
Rose is interested in poisoning epidemiology, in particular she aims to uncover and assess geographical inequalities in poisoning risk and access to life-saving treatments. She aims to identify at-risk groups of paediatric poisoning and deliberate self-poisoning and identify ways to best address health system inequalities and unwarranted clinical variation. There are several opportunities for new projects in these areas which include analysis of linked data.
Editorial Board Member, TOXINZ (a clinical toxicology database used in over 20 countries)
Member, Toxicology and Poisons Network of Australasia (TAPNA)
Member, European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT)
Partnership Group Member, National Collaborative Network for Child Health Informatics
Member, Global Toxicosurveillance Network (GTNet), coordinated by Rocky Mountain Poisons and Drug Center, Denver, Colorado
2018 Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN) Annual Quality and Innovation Awards Winner: “Keeping People Healthy” category
2015 Best Poster Prize, Toxicology and Poisons Network of Australasia annual conference
2010 The University Medal (The University of Sydney)
2010 Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (NSW Branch) Ltd Gold Medal
2010 The University of Sydney Academic Merit Prize
2010 William Joseph Collett Shoppee Prize for Pharmaceutical Chemistry
2010 Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (NSW Branch) Ltd Prize for Proficiency in Pharmacy 4th Year
2010 Society of Hospital Pharmacists Prize for Excellence in Pharmacotherapeutics in the Bachelor of Pharmacy
2009 The University of Sydney Academic Merit Prize
2009 Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (NSW Branch) Ltd Prize for Proficiency in Pharmacy 3rd Year
2007 McGraw-Hill Australia Prize for Academic Excellence in Social Pharmacy
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| Poisonings with over-the-counter medications: improving understanding to guide medication safety initiatives | Annabelle CHIDIAC |
| Understanding and forecasting the demand and cost of cancer chemotherapy drugs in Australia. | Jasmine LEE |
| Investigating the magnitude outcomes and prevention of poisonings in people with dementia | Ilsa WOJT |
Publications
Book Chapters
- Tebar, F., Gelabert-Baldrich, M., Hoque, M., Cairns, R., Rentero, C., Pol, A., Grewal, T., Enrich, C. (2014). Annexins and Endosomal Signaling. In Not known (Eds.), Methods in Enzymology, (pp. 55-74). Academic Press Inc. [More Information]
Journals
- Lee, S., Yeung, K., Bin, Y., Smith, L., Tan, E., Cairns, R., Cheung, J. (2024). Melatonin Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents: An Exploration of Caregiver and Pharmacist Perspectives. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 22(6), 960-979. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Buckley, N., Noghrehchi, F., Raubenheimer, J., Chitty, K., Isbister, G., Chiew, A., Brett, J., Dawson, A., Brown, J. (2024). Poisoning and envenomation linkage to evaluate outcomes and clinical variation in Australia (PAVLOVA): a longitudinal data-linkage cohort of acute poisonings, envenomations, and adverse drug reactions in New South Wales, Australia, 2011–2020. Clinical Toxicology. [More Information]
- Gillooly, I., Tan, E., Wojt, I., Patanwala, A., Cairns, R. (2023). Changes in medication regimen complexity index following medication-related hospital admissions: A retrospective single-centre study. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. [More Information]
2024
- Lee, S., Yeung, K., Bin, Y., Smith, L., Tan, E., Cairns, R., Cheung, J. (2024). Melatonin Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents: An Exploration of Caregiver and Pharmacist Perspectives. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 22(6), 960-979. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Buckley, N., Noghrehchi, F., Raubenheimer, J., Chitty, K., Isbister, G., Chiew, A., Brett, J., Dawson, A., Brown, J. (2024). Poisoning and envenomation linkage to evaluate outcomes and clinical variation in Australia (PAVLOVA): a longitudinal data-linkage cohort of acute poisonings, envenomations, and adverse drug reactions in New South Wales, Australia, 2011–2020. Clinical Toxicology. [More Information]
2023
- Gillooly, I., Tan, E., Wojt, I., Patanwala, A., Cairns, R. (2023). Changes in medication regimen complexity index following medication-related hospital admissions: A retrospective single-centre study. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy. [More Information]
- Chiew, K., Wright, N., Cairns, R. (2023). Clinical features of COVID-19 rapid antigen test exposures reported by an Australian poisons information centre: a prospective study. Clinical Toxicology, 61(6), 470-472. [More Information]
- Noghrehchi, F., Cairns, R., Buckley, N. (2023). Hospital admissions for paracetamol poisoning declined following codeine re-scheduling in Australia. International Journal of Drug Policy, 116, 104040. [More Information]
2022
- Wojt, I., Cairns, R., Gillooly, I., Patanwala, A., Tan, E. (2022). Clinical factors associated with increased length of stay and readmission in patients with medication-related hospital admissions: a retrospective study. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 18(7), 3184-3190. [More Information]
- Chitty, K., Raubenheimer, J., Cairns, R., Kirby, K., Buckley, N. (2022). Deliberate self-poisoning in Australian adolescents is increased on school days. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 148, 103-109. [More Information]
- Murnion, B., Schaffer, A., Cairns, R., Brett, J. (2022). Gabapentinoids: repeating mistakes of the past? Addiction, 117(12), 2969-2971. [More Information]
2021
- Huang, J., Buckley, N., Isoardi, K., Chiew, A., Isbister, G., Cairns, R., Brown, J., Chan, B. (2021). Angiotensin axis antagonists increase the incidence of haemodynamic instability in dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker poisoning. Clinical Toxicology, 59(6), 464-471. [More Information]
- Lim, J., Buckley, N., Chitty, K., Moles, R., Cairns, R. (2021). Association between Means Restriction of Poison and Method-Specific Suicide Rates: A Systematic Review. JAMA Health Forum, 2(10), E213042. [More Information]
- Arbaeen, A., Wheate, N., Cairns, R. (2021). Opioid exposures in children under 5 years of age (2004–2019): A retrospective study of calls to Australia's largest poisons information centre. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 57(6), 883-887. [More Information]
2020
- Cairns, R., Raubenheimer, J., Brown, J., McArdle, K., Buckley, N. (2020). 2,4-Dinitrophenol exposures and deaths in Australia after the 2017 up-scheduling. Medical Journal of Australia, 212(9), 434-4340. [More Information]
- Chitty, K., Schumann, J., Schaffer, A., Cairns, R., Gonzaga, N., Raubenheimer, J., Carter, G., Page, A., Pearson, S., Buckley, N. (2020). Australian Suicide Prevention using Health-Linked Data (ASHLi): Protocol for a population-based case series study. BMJ Open, 10(5), e038181. [More Information]
- Schaffer, A., Cairns, R., Brown, J., Gisev, N., Buckley, N., Pearson, S. (2020). Changes in sales of analgesics to pharmacies after codeine was rescheduled as a prescription only medicine. Medical Journal of Australia, 212(7), 321-327. [More Information]
2019
- Cairns, R., Brown, J., Buckley, N. (2019). Adolescent self-harm: over-the-counter medicines fly under the radar. Australian Prescriber, 42(5), 151. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Brown, J., Lachireddy, K., Wylie, C., Robinson, J., Dawson, A., Buckley, N. (2019). Button battery exposures in Australian children: a prospective observational study highlighting the role of poisons information centres. Clinical Toxicology, 57(6), 404-410. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Brown, J., Buckley, N. (2019). Clonidine exposures in children under 6 (2004-2017): a retrospective study. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 104(3), 287-291. [More Information]
2018
- Bell, J., Bentley, J., Downie, C., Cairns, R., Buckley, N., Katelaris, A., Pearson, S., Nassar, N. (2018). Accidental pharmacological poisonings in young children: population-based study in three settings. Clinical Toxicology, 56(8), 782-789. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Fischer, A., Blanco-Munoz, P., Alvarez-Guaita, A., Meneses-Salas, E., Egert, A., Buechler, C., Hoy, A., Heeren, J., Enrich, C., Grewal, T., et al (2018). Altered hepatic glucose homeostasis in AnxA6-KO mice fed a high-fat diet. PloS One, 13(8), 1-26. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Brown, J., Dawson, A., Davis, W., Buckley, N. (2018). Carols by glow sticks: a retrospective analysis of Poisons Information Centre data. Medical Journal of Australia, 209(11), 505-508. [More Information]
2017
- Balaban, S., Shearer, R., Lee, L., van Geldermalsen, M., Schreuder, M., Shtein, H., Cairns, R., Cooke, K., Fazakerley, D., Grewal, T., Holst, J., Hoy, A., et al (2017). Adipocyte lipolysis links obesity to breast cancer growth: adipocyte-derived fatty acids drive breast cancer cell proliferation and migration. Cancer and Metabolism, 5(1). [More Information]
- Cooper, J., Brown, J., Cairns, R., Ibister, G. (2017). Desvenlafaxine overdose and the occurrence of serotonin toxicity, seizures and cardiovascular effects. Clinical Toxicology, 55(1), 18-24. [More Information]
- Osborne, N., Cairns, R., Dawson, A., Chitty, K., Buckley, N. (2017). Epidemiology of coronial deaths from pesticide ingestion in Australia. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 220(2), 478-484. [More Information]
2016
- Cairns, R., Brown, J., Lynch, A., Robinson, J., Wylie, C., Buckley, N. (2016). A decade of Australian methotrexate dosing errors. Medical Journal of Australia, 204(10), 384.e1-384.e6. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Brown, J., Buckley, N. (2016). A decade of Australian methotrexate dosing errors. Medical Journal of Australia, 205(10), 486-486. [More Information]
- Cairns, R., Daniels, B., Wood, D., Brett, J. (2016). ADHD medication overdose and misuse: the NSW Poisons Information Centre experience, 2004-2014. Medical Journal of Australia, 204(4), 154.e1-154.e7. [More Information]
2015
- Alvarez-Guaita, A., Vila de Muga, S., Owen, D., Williamson, D., Magenau, A., Garcia-Melero, A., Reverter, M., Hoque, M., Cairns, R., Cornely, R., Grewal, T., et al (2015). Evidence for annexin A6-dependent plasma membrane remodelling of lipid domains. British Journal of Pharmacology, 172(7), 1677-1690. [More Information]
- Gao, Q., Hanh, J., Varadi, L., Cairns, R., Sjoestroem, H., Liao, V., Wood, P., Balaban, S., Ong, J., Lin, H., Lai, F., Hoy, A., Grewal, T., Groundwater, P., Hibbs, D. (2015). Identification of dual PPARα/γ agonists and their effects on lipid metabolism. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 23(24), 7676-7684. [More Information]
2014
- Hoque, M., Rentero, C., Cairns, R., Tebar, F., Enrich, C., Grewal, T. (2014). Annexins - scaffolds modulating PKC localization and signaling. Cellular Signalling, 26(6), 1213-1225. [More Information]
- Tebar, F., Gelabert-Baldrich, M., Hoque, M., Cairns, R., Rentero, C., Pol, A., Grewal, T., Enrich, C. (2014). Annexins and Endosomal Signaling. In Not known (Eds.), Methods in Enzymology, (pp. 55-74). Academic Press Inc. [More Information]
- Reverter, M., Rentero, C., Garcia-Melero, A., Hoque, M., de Muga, S., Alvarez-Guaita, A., Conway, J., Wood, P., Cairns, R., Lykopoulou, L., Grewal, T., et al (2014). Cholesterol Regulates Syntaxin 6 Trafficking at trans-Golgi Network Endosomal Boundaries. Cell Reports, 7(3), 883-897. [More Information]
2013
- Koese, M., Rentero, C., Kota, B., Hoque, M., Cairns, R., Wood, P., Vila de Muga, S., Reverter, M., Alvarez-Guaita, A., Monastyrskaya, K., Grewal, T., et al (2013). Annexin A6 is a scaffold for PKC(alpha) to promote EGFR inactivation. Oncogene, 32(23), 2858-2872. [More Information]
- Mulay, V., Wood, P., Manetsch, M., Darabi, M., Cairns, R., Hoque, M., Chan, K., Reverter, M., Alvarez-Guaita, A., Rye, K., Grewal, T., et al (2013). Inhibition of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Erk1/2 Promotes Protein Degradation of ATP Binding Cassette Transporters A1 and G1 in CHO and HuH7 Cells. PloS One, 8(4), 1-10. [More Information]
2011
- Reverter, M., Rentero, C., Vila de Muga, S., Alvarez-Guaita, A., Mulay, V., Cairns, R., Wood, P., Monastyrskaya, K., Pol, A., Tebar, F., Grewal, T., et al (2011). Cholesterol transport from late endosomes to the Golgi regulates t-SNARE trafficking, assembly, and function. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 22(21), 4108-4123. [More Information]
Selected Grants
2023
- Rewarding Research 2024, Cairns R, Faculty of Medicine and Health/FMH Rewarding Research Success
2022
- Equity Prize: Thompson, Cairns R, DVC Research/Equity Prize: Thompson
In the media
https://www.nps.org.au/news/new-data-act-as-a-reminder-about-accidental-poisoning-in-children
https://sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/news-and-events/2018/07/02/usyd-pharmacists--how-i-became-a-senior-poisons-specialist.html
https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-methotrexate-the-anti-inflammatory-drug-that-can-kill-if-taken-daily-60322
https://www.smh.com.au/healthcare/worrying-rise-in-accidental-overdose-of-prescription-drug-methotrexate-20160606-gpcaz3.html
https://ajp.com.au/news/alprazolam-upschedule-cuts-overall-use-adverse-events/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-06/methotrexate-linked-to-eight-deaths-since-2000-research-says/7479566
https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/health/article/2016/06/07/misuse-popular-arthritis-drug-linked-eight-deaths-2000
https://www.afr.com/lifestyle/health/methotrexate-overdosing-claims-eight-lives-20160605-gpbw6s
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-23/fact-check-over-the-counter-prescription-only-codeine/9522916
https://www.doctorportal.com.au/mjainsight/2016/21/preventable-methotrexate-errors-need-fix/
https://www.doctorportal.com.au/mjainsight/2016/46/water-beads-an-accident-waiting-to-happen/
Several radio and TV interviews discussing research on methotrexate poisoning (2GB, 2UE, Channel 7 National News)
Radio interview with National Radio News on the Australian Poisons Information Centre Annual Report
