Lara Hatchuel (matric 2000) completed her Bachelor degree in Medicine and Surgery at Wits University in 2007. After working in a hospital environment for 5 years, Lara found her passion for clinical research. She spent 4 years working for a research site in Johannesburg where she gained immense experience in conducting clinical trials. During this time, Lara was married and had two children.
In 2017, they made the decision to emigrate to Perth, Australia where she was offered an incredible opportunity to be the Associate Medical Director at Linear Clinical Research (LCR), one of the global leaders and one of the best phase-one research units in Australia. Lara has been heading up the medical team at LCR for almost 3 years now and has had the privilege to be trialing novel and exciting interventions to be able to bring life-changing therapies to patients sooner.
Lara says, “an absolutely ground-breaking trial I am currently involved with is the Covid-19 vaccine trial. We will be trialing a novel vaccine in healthy volunteers initially, and the intention is to stimulate the body’s immune system to mount a protective response against coronavirus. To be at the frontline of the fight against this global pandemic is an honour and it has been a lifetime dream, as a healthcare professional, to be part of such a worthy cause. I hope to nurture this medical breakthrough!”
At St Andrew’s, we are proud to have an old girl leading the way during this global pandemic.
Lara says, “I encourage every fellow St Andrean to believe in their inner feminine strength. It is such a powerful tool if harnessed in a positive way. Always believe in yourself!”
Thank you Lara, we are rooting for you.
#StAndrewsOldGirls