The Right Drug, the First Time
Akinyemi Oni-Orisan, PharmD, PhD, is using genetics to end the guesswork in prescribing and helping make sure no one gets left behind.
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Clinical Pharmacy
Research areas
Research in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy focuses on the precise, personalized relationship between patients and their medications. It also examines broader relationships between patients and the health care and public policy environments that influence factors such as medication cost and access, health disparities, and pharmacy practice models.
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Clinical research
Department researchers seek to determine the safest, most effective use of medications for a given patient or population and disease state.
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Education research
Department researchers determine, develop, and implement the most effective means of teaching how to deliver pharmacy care.
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Health services and policy research
Department researchers study broad medication-related factors that ultimately affect the health of patients and populations.
Pharmacy School in the Western U.S.
1st
The UCSF School of Pharmacy is the oldest pharmacy school in the West, advancing education, patient care and research for more than a century.
In NIH funding
No. 1
In 2025, and for the 46th consecutive year, the UCSF School of Pharmacy received more research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) than any other pharmacy school.
Calls per year
235,000
Operated by the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, the California Poison Control System is a critical safety net that responds to numerous calls about potential poison exposures every day.
Patient care
Department of Clinical Pharmacy pharmacist faculty members care for the medication needs of patients in many health care settings. In addition, they innovate and evaluate new models of pharmacy care. And because the department’s practicing pharmacists are academicians, their patient care and research responsibilities go hand in hand.
These clinicians draw on their patient care expertise to develop better ways of delivering care, while rigorously and routinely evaluating the effectiveness of new approaches. The ultimate goal is to promote improved, evidence-based ways of caring for the medication needs of patients.
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Acute and ambulatory care settings
Department faculty pharmacists practice in acute care hospitals and ambulatory care settings with UCSF Health as well as in hospitals, clinics, community pharmacies, and physician group practices throughout California.
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Beyond traditional settings
The department’s faculty pharmacists also practice in unique settings, often with the goal of studying new models of efficient, effective patient care.
Education
PharmD curriculum
News
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Why It’s Still Hard to Get the Right Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid
In a new JAMA Viewpoint, Kathryn A. Phillips, PhD, examines why expanding access to hearing aids over the counter hasn't eliminated barriers to getting appropriate hearing care.
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Q&A: Dietary Supplements and Alternative Therapies for Menopause
Menopause can bring a range of physical and emotional changes, causing many women to seek dietary supplements or other nonhormonal approaches for relief. Candy Tsourinis, PharmD, professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, discusses what people should know about these options, including what the evidence shows, what “hormone balancing” really means, and why it’s important to consider your individual medical and family history before starting a supplement.