Natalie Gauld

Natalie Joan Gauld is a New Zealand pharmacist, lecturer and researcher. She was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to pharmacy and health in 2023.

Academic career
Gauld grew up in Taranaki, and studied pharmacy at the Central Institute of Technology (now the Wellington Institute of Technology). Gauld completed a Master of Pharmacy degree at the University of Otago and a PhD titled How and why do developed countries vary in reclassifying medicines from prescription to non-prescription? at the University of Auckland. Gauld is a senior clinical lecturer at the university, and an honorary senior research fellow in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. In March 2022 Gauld was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. At the end of 2023 she was appointed Research Advisor and Best Practice Advocate for the charity Motor Neurone Disease New Zealand.

Gauld has been a principal investigator in several research studies, including research on pharmacy services such as hepatitis C screening and vaccination in pregnancy. Gauld applied to the Medicines Classification Committee to reclassify some medicines, allowing them to be dispensed by pharmacists without prescription. The medications covered included vaccinations, melatonin used for insomnia, some oral contraceptives, and treatments for acne and psoriasis. She has also developed education and screening tools for pharmacists to assist with dispensing reclassified medicines.

Honours and awards
In 2023 Gauld was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to pharmacy and health. She was also awarded the 2022 Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand Gold Award. She was elected a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand. Gauld won the Supreme Award in the 2018 Pharmacy Awards.