Research

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.

The fundamental goal of the department’s research is to ensure the safest, most effective use of affordable, accessible medications for all patients. This goal might be accomplished via a clinical study on the genetic response of a patient group to a drug, or through a practice study that looks at a new way to ensure patients are taking their medications as prescribed and reporting any medical problems or lifestyle challenges with their regimens.

Research Areas

Clinical Research
Department researchers seek to determine the safest, most effective use of medications for a given patient or population and disease state, focusing on:
- Medication outcomes and comparative effectiveness
- Pharmacoepidemiology
- Pharmacogenomics
- Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
Education Research
Department researchers determine, develop, and implement the most effective means of teaching how to deliver pharmacy care. By, for example,:
- Creating and evaluating training programs
- Evaluating curricula
Health Services and Policy Research
Department researchers study broad medication-related factors that ultimately affect the health of patients and populations, focusing on:
- Global health
- Health disparities
- Health policy analyses
- Health delivery education
- Pharmacoeconomics
- Pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine
- Pharmacy practice research

Research Services and Facilities

Drug Research Unit

A biomedical research and training program in which faculty, postdoctoral fellows, residents, and students carry out drug research, with emphasis on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Director: Francesca Aweeka, PharmD

Research Programs and Collaborations

California Poison Control System (CPCS)

The largest single provider of poison control services in the United States, offering immediate and expert guidance around the clock to both health care professionals and the general public across the state.
Interim Executive Director: Thomas Kearney, PharmD
Center for Translational and Policy Research on Precision Medicine (TRANSPERS)

Leading major research projects and bringing together academic, government, and industry leaders to explore how precision medicine can be best applied to improve health.
Director: Kathryn Phillips, PhD
Program for Outcomes, Pharmaceutical Economics, and Policy Studies (PrOEPS)

Aims to meet the needs of patients, caregivers, health care systems, and industry to determine the best use of pharmaceutical care resources in the management of disease in the current health care environment of scarce resources.
Director: Leslie Wilson, PhD
UCSF Medication Outcomes Center (MOC)

Informs evidence-based decision-making for both the UCSF Medical Center and its patients.
Director: Rosa Rodriguez-Monguio, PhD, MS