Erika Wallender, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor

Department of Clinical Pharmacy

[email protected]

Phone: +1 415 502-1994

490 Illinois Street, Rm 305

UCSF Box 0613

San Francisco, CA 94158

United States

Links

UCSF Profiles

Educational programs

PharmD Degree Program

What I do

I am an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy. I investigate how to optimally use antimalarials to prevent malaria in vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. To do this I use computational methods in pharmacology and epidemiology. My goal is optimize the use of antimalarial drugs to reduce the burden of malaria, minimize drug toxicity and avoid antimalarial drug resistance in Uganda.

Departmental research area

clinical research

My research expertise

Malaria epidemiology, antimalarial pharmacokinetics, nonlinear mixed effects modeling, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics modeling, pediatric pharmacokinetics

Clinical expertise

Infectious diseases, HIV primary care

Degrees

MD, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 2012

MPH, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 2012

BA, Biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 2004

Biography

Erika Wallender is in the infectious diseases physician and has completed a clinical pharmacology fellowship. Her research is focused on integrating quantitative pharmacometric and epidemiologic methods to predict how antimalarials can be optimally used for malaria prevention in Uganda. Specifically, she is focused on predicting optimal dosing of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy and for young children in Uganda, accounting for efficacy, toxicity, and selection for antimalarial drug resistance.

Research keywords

Artemisinins
Groundwater
Water Microbiology
Antimalarials
Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic
Malaria, Falciparum
Quinolines
Water Quality
malaria
Water Purification
Uganda
Plasmodium falciparum
Disease Outbreaks
drug resistance
Sulfadoxine

Licensure and certifications

Infectious Diseases, Board Certification, 2017

DEA, Certification, 2016

Licentiate in Medicine, California, 2015

Internal Medicine, Board Certification, 2015

News

Publications

Hughes E, Wallender E, Kajubi R, Jagannathan P, Ochieng T, Kakuru A, Kamya MR, Clark TD, Rosenthal PJ, Dorsey G, Aweeka F, Savic RM. Piperaquine induced QTc prolongation decreases with repeated monthly dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine dosing in pregnant Ugandan women. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Dec 02.

Wallender E, Ali AM, Hughes E, Kakuru A, Jagannathan P, Muhindo MK, Opira B, Whalen M, Huang L, Duvalsaint M, Legac J, Kamya MR, Dorsey G, Aweeka F, Rosenthal PJ, Savic RM. Identifying an optimal dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine dosing regimen for malaria prevention in young Ugandan children. Nat Commun. 2021 11 18; 12(1):6714.

Hughes E, Wallender E, Mohamed Ali A, Jagannathan P, Savic RM. Malaria PK/PD and the Role Pharmacometrics Can Play in the Global Health Arena: Malaria Treatment Regimens for Vulnerable Populations. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2021 10; 110(4):926-940.

Hughes E, Imperial M, Wallender E, Kajubi R, Huang L, Jagannathan P, Zhang N, Kakuru A, Natureeba P, Mwima MW, Muhindo M, Mwebaza N, Clark TD, Opira B, Nakalembe M, Havlir D, Kamya M, Rosenthal PJ, Dorsey G, Aweeka F, Savic RM. Piperaquine Exposure Is Altered by Pregnancy, HIV, and Nutritional Status in Ugandan Women. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2020 11 17; 64(12).

Mwebaza N, Cheah V, Forsman C, Kajubi R, Marzan F, Wallender E, Dorsey G, Rosenthal PJ, Aweeka F, Huang L. Determination of piperaquine concentration in human plasma and the correlation of capillary versus venous plasma concentrations. PLoS One. 2020; 15(5):e0233893.

Garcia-Cremades M, Solans BP, Hughes E, Ernest JP, Wallender E, Savic RM. Response to "Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology INPUT to SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutics Should be Based on Robust Data". Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020 08; 108(2):189.

Garcia-Cremades M, Solans BP, Hughes E, Ernest JP, Wallender E, Aweeka F, Luetkemeyer AF, Savic RM. Optimizing Hydroxychloroquine Dosing for Patients With COVID-19: An Integrative Modeling Approach for Effective Drug Repurposing. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020 08; 108(2):253-263.

Budak JZ, Brickman CE, Abdoler EA, Wallender EK, Mulliken JS, Kerkhoff AD, Lampiris H, Babik JM, Koss CA, Schwartz BS. Response to: Is Burnout Infectious? Understanding Drivers of Burnout and Job Satisfaction Among Academic Infectious Diseases Physicians. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Apr; 7(4):ofaa098.

Collins JM, Wallender EK, Woodworth MH. Improving the Infectious Diseases Physician Scientist Workforce From the View of Junior Investigators: Vision, Transparency, and Reproducibility. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 01 01; 70(1):162-168.

Jehan Budak, Cristina Brickman, Emily Abdoler, Erika Wallender, Jennifer S Mulliken, Andrew D Kerkhoff, Harry Lampiris, Jennifer M Babik, Catherine Koss, Brian Schwartz, Brian Schwartz. 2534. Development of an Infectious Diseases Fellowship Well-Being Program. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2019 Oct 23; 6(Suppl 2):s881-s881.

Whalen ME, Kajubi R, Chamankhah N, Huang L, Orukan F, Wallender E, Kamya MR, Dorsey G, Jagannathan P, Rosenthal PJ, Mwebaza N, Aweeka FT. Reduced Exposure to Piperaquine, Compared to Adults, in Young Children Receiving Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine as Malaria Chemoprevention. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2019 12; 106(6):1310-1318.

Yeka A, Wallender E, Mulebeke R, Kibuuka A, Kigozi R, Bosco A, Kyambadde P, Opigo J, Kalyesubula S, Senzoga J, Vinden J, Conrad M, Rosenthal PJ. Comparative Efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine and Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Malaria in Ugandan Children. J Infect Dis. 2019 03 15; 219(7):1112-1120.

Wallender E, Zhang N, Conrad M, Kakuru A, Muhindo M, Tumwebaze P, Kajubi R, Mota D, Legac J, Jagannathan P, Havlir D, Kamya M, Dorsey G, Aweeka F, Rosenthal PJ, Savic RM. Modeling Prevention of Malaria and Selection of Drug Resistance with Different Dosing Schedules of Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine Preventive Therapy during Pregnancy in Uganda. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2019 02; 63(2).

Savic RM, Jagannathan P, Kajubi R, Huang L, Zhang N, Were M, Kakuru A, Muhindo MK, Mwebaza N, Wallender E, Clark TD, Opira B, Kamya M, Havlir DV, Rosenthal PJ, Dorsey G, Aweeka FT. Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Malaria in Pregnancy: Optimization of Target Concentrations of Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 09 14; 67(7):1079-1088.

Jagannathan P, Kakuru A, Okiring J, Muhindo MK, Natureeba P, Nakalembe M, Opira B, Olwoch P, Nankya F, Ssewanyana I, Tetteh K, Drakeley C, Beeson J, Reiling L, Clark TD, Rodriguez-Barraquer I, Greenhouse B, Wallender E, Aweeka F, Prahl M, Charlebois ED, Feeney ME, Havlir DV, Kamya MR, Dorsey G. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy and risk of malaria in early childhood: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS Med. 2018 07; 15(7):e1002606.

Wallender E, Vucicevic K, Jagannathan P, Huang L, Natureeba P, Kakuru A, Muhindo M, Nakalembe M, Havlir D, Kamya M, Aweeka F, Dorsey G, Rosenthal PJ, Savic RM. Predicting Optimal Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine Regimens to Prevent Malaria During Pregnancy for Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Women Receiving Efavirenz. J Infect Dis. 2018 03 05; 217(6):964-972.

Conrad MD, Mota D, Foster M, Tukwasibwe S, Legac J, Tumwebaze P, Whalen M, Kakuru A, Nayebare P, Wallender E, Havlir DV, Jagannathan P, Huang L, Aweeka F, Kamya MR, Dorsey G, Rosenthal PJ. Impact of Intermittent Preventive Treatment During Pregnancy on Plasmodium falciparum Drug Resistance-Mediating Polymorphisms in Uganda. J Infect Dis. 2017 11 15; 216(8):1008-1017.

Byer L, Rutledge C, Wallender E, Osorio JA, Jacobs R, Theodosopoulos PV. Salmonella Infection After Craniotomy. Cureus. 2017 Aug 15; 9(8):e1566.

Ippolito MM, Johnson J, Mullin C, Mallow C, Morgan N, Wallender E, Li T, Rosenthal PJ. The Relative Effects of Artemether-lumefantrine and Non-artemisinin Antimalarials on Gametocyte Carriage and Transmission of Plasmodium falciparum: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Aug 01; 65(3):486-494.

Chou J, Wallender E, Schwartz BS. Respiratory Failure in a Woman 8 Months After an Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. JAMA Oncol. 2016 Dec 01; 2(12):1651-1652.

Chastain CA, Beekmann SE, Wallender EK, Hulgan T, Stapleton JT, Polgreen PM. Hepatitis C Management and the Infectious Diseases Physician: A Survey of Current and Anticipated Practice Patterns. Clin Infect Dis. 2015 Sep 01; 61(5):792-4.

Erika Wallender, Cody A. Chastain, Megan Turner, Bryan Shepherd, Timothy R. Sterling, Todd Hulgan. 1135High rates of self-reported alcohol use in HIV/HCV co-infected and HIV mono-infected patients in a Southeastern U.S. Cohort. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2014 Jan 1; 1(Suppl 1):s337-s337.

Cody Chastain, Susan E. Beekmann, Erika Wallender, Todd Hulgan, Jack Stapleton, Philip M. Polgreen. 741Management of Hepatitis C Among Infectious Diseases Physicians: Current Practice and Opinions. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2014 Jan 1; 1(Suppl 1):s209-s209.

Johnson DB, Wallender EK, Cohen DN, Likhari SS, Zwerner JP, Powers JG, Shinn L, Kelley MC, Joseph RW, Sosman JA. Severe cutaneous and neurologic toxicity in melanoma patients during vemurafenib administration following anti-PD-1 therapy. Cancer Immunol Res. 2013 Dec; 1(6):373-7.

Wallender EK, Ailes EC, Yoder JS, Roberts VA, Brunkard JM. Contributing factors to disease outbreaks associated with untreated groundwater. Ground Water. 2014 Nov-Dec; 52(6):886-97.

Hawkins C, Agbaji O, Ugoagwu P, Thio CL, Auwal MM, Ani C, Okafo C, Wallender E, Murphy RL. Assessment of liver fibrosis by transient elastography in patients with HIV and hepatitis B virus coinfection in Nigeria. Clin Infect Dis. 2013 Dec; 57(12):e189-92.

Nakamura K, Nemani VM, Wallender EK, Kaehlcke K, Ott M, Edwards RH. Optical reporters for the conformation of alpha-synuclein reveal a specific interaction with mitochondria. J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 19; 28(47):12305-17.

Yamada K, Lim J, Dale JM, Chen H, Shinn P, Palm CJ, Southwick AM, Wu HC, Kim C, Nguyen M, Pham P, Cheuk R, Karlin-Newmann G, Liu SX, Lam B, Sakano H, Wu T, Yu G, Miranda M, Quach HL, Tripp M, Chang CH, Lee JM, Toriumi M, Chan MM, Tang CC, Onodera CS, Deng JM, Akiyama K, Ansari Y, Arakawa T, Banh J, Banno F, Bowser L, Brooks S, Carninci P, Chao Q, Choy N, Enju A, Goldsmith AD, Gurjal M, Hansen NF, Hayashizaki Y, Johnson-Hopson C, Hsuan VW, Iida K, Karnes M, Khan S, Koesema E, Ishida J, Jiang PX, Jones T, Kawai J, Kamiya A, Meyers C, Nakajima M, Narusaka M, Seki M, Sakurai T, Satou M, Tamse R, Vaysberg M, Wallender EK, Wong C, Yamamura Y, Yuan S, Shinozaki K, Davis RW, Theologis A, Ecker JR. Empirical analysis of transcriptional activity in the Arabidopsis genome. Science. 2003 Oct 31; 302(5646):842-6.