Pharmacy Inside Jobs: astropharmacy

Li Shean Toh talks about her unconventional role as an astropharmacy researcher and the career steps she took along the way.

In this episode of Pharmacy Inside Jobs, senior features editor Siobhan Chan talks to Li Shean Toh.

Toh is an astropharmacist, who is currently based at Monash University in Australia and holds roles at the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency. She carries out clinical consultations, research and teaching into medicines management and the way our bodies process medication in microgravity. She also develops policy, works in space tourism and has co-founded a company called Apotech in Extreme, which aims to find pharmaceutical solutions for space exploration.

Before moving to her current role, Toh worked as a paediatric leukaemia pharmacist, as well as a GP pharmacist in rural Malaysia.

Toh has also set up the Aerospace Pharmacy and Pharmacology Group, which aims to advance the field of aerospace pharmacy and pharmacology — she would like to hear from any pharmacists who are interested in joining.

Listen to this episode to find out how to follow your academic interests and carve out your own niche in pharmacy research.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.


Pharmacy Inside Jobs

Our PJ Pod series — Pharmacy Inside Jobs — has been developed to inspire you to take the next step in your career. Whether you are a pharmacy student or a seasoned pharmacy professional, our goal is to provide insights into the increasingly diverse roles that exist within the profession.

In each episode, we will be joined by a guest to explore their career journey so far, with a focus on their current role and the opportunities, challenges and rewards that it brings. We will also find out which skills are needed to succeed in their role and how you could follow in their footsteps.


In case you missed it, our first three Pharmacy Inside Jobs episodes featured prison pharmacist Kaniksha Aggarwal, who lifts the lid on what it is like to work as an advanced pharmacist specialist in a men’s prison; Gurmat Khangura, a specialist in neurodevelopmental conditions, who talks about his role conducting ADHD assessments for young people; and Sanjay Gudimetla, who reveals what it’s like to be a senior medical affairs manager within the pharmaceutical industry. 

Last updated
Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ February 2026, Vol 317, No 8006;317(8006)::DOI:10.1211/PJ.2026.1.399766

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