Jesse J. Swen is a clinical pharmacist-pharmacologist, professor of clinical pharmacy in particular translational pharmacogenetics, and chair of the laboratory of the department of clinical pharmacy and toxicology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

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Jesse J. Swen is a clinical pharmacist-pharmacologist, professor of clinical pharmacy in particular translational pharmacogenetics, and chair of the laboratory of the department of clinical pharmacy and toxicology at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

Clinical Pharmacy

Clinical pharmacy focuses on optimizing drug treatment in patients. It aims to achieve optimal, safe, and effective drug treatment for patients in all health care settings (NWA Route Personalised medicine). Historically personalizing drug dosing was accomplished by measuring drug levels in the blood. However, the genomics revolution now also allows the use of genomic information to guide drug dosing. Indeed, pharmacogenetics is widely recognized as one of the first clinical applications of personalized medicine. It aims to optimize drug treatment by personalising the dose and drug selection based on a better understanding of the genetic variation that is causal for the variability in drug response, typically via alterations in a drug's pharmacokinetics (e.g. metabolism) or via modulation of a drug's pharmacodynamics (e.g. the drug target). After decades of discovery, the field of pharmacogenetics is moving towards clinical implementation, thereby providing a cornerstone for personalized medicine.

Academic Career

Jesse J. Swen obtained his Pharmacy degree in 2004 (Utrecht University). During his training as a hospital pharmacist at the LUMC he completed a doctoral thesis entitled “Translating Pharmacogenetics to Primary Care” (2011). After this he worked as a visiting researcher with PharmGKB group, Stanford University after which he was recruited back to the LUMC and continued his work in Pharmacogenetics research and implementation in clinical practice.

In 2017 he was registered as a Clinical Pharmacologist. In 2022, he was appointed professor Clinical Pharmacy, in particular translational pharmacogenetics at the LUMC.

Activities