Metformin | School of Pharmacy

UCSF School of Pharmacy leads in NIH funding for 37th year in a row

Mon Mar 27, 2017

For the 37th consecutive year, the UCSF School of Pharmacy has received more funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) than any other pharmacy school in the United States. School researchers were awarded $28.2 million in grants during NIH’s 2016 fiscal year, from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.

Update from the Dean - March 2017

Wed Mar 15, 2017

Nation debates possibility of dramatically new directions for health care coverage, science funding, immigration, education; Revealing malaria/HIV drug interactions in children; Decreasing cancer drug toxicity while increasing dose; Engineering safer opioids; Evidence for comprehensive medication management; Medicare Part D as a learning model for pharmacy education—impact 10 years out; New genetic insights into diabetes drug response; Annotating the ‘dark genome’; Epigenetics of ethnicity; New endowed professorships made possible by private support; New Center for Cellular Construction; Major funding for UCSF-Stanford CERSI; 2017 Mary Anne Koda-Kimble Seed Award for Innovation; Welcoming the class of 2020; Three generations at the School of Pharmacy; Developing a curriculum for 2018 and beyond; AFPE honors Frank Szoka as Mentor of the Year; 2016 Chancellor Diversity Awards honor Marcus Ferrone and Peace Chukudi; Eddie Way celebrates 100 years; CPhA Hall of Fame honors Brian Komoto, Phillip Oppenheimer, Wilma Wong; $500M gift to campus from Helen Diller Foundation; UC statement on federal executive order restricting travel and entry.

UCSF School of Pharmacy leads in NIH funding for 36th year in a row

Thu Mar 31, 2016

Image credit:

UCSF News

For the 36th consecutive year, the UCSF School of Pharmacy has received more funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) than any other pharmacy school in the United States.

Giacomini to lead largest study of genetic, ethnic differences in effectiveness of leading diabetes drug

Thu Nov 5, 2015

Image credit:

Thao P. Do

(left to right) The Galega officinalis (aka French lilac) was used as a folk remedy for diabetes symptoms for centuries before analysis of its extracts revealed compounds that lowered blood sugar. Eventually, metformin (molecule and pill) was developed. It is a related molecule that is longer acting and less toxic than the plant extracts. Metformin acts on cells in the liver (center and cross-section right) to reduce glucose production and thus blood sugar.

In people with type 2 diabetes, the body is less able to use the hormone insulin to regulate blood sugar. The disease affects 350 million patients globally—including 29 million in the United States, where it is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and non-accident-related amputations.

Rada Savic, PhD

Associate Professor

I investigate the causes of variations in clinical outcomes, using computational methods. My goal is to determine the optimal dosage, timing, and duration of therapeutic regimens. Ultimately, I want to develop precise, personalized treatments.

Kathy Giacomini, PhD

Professor & CERSI Co-Director

My research focuses on membrane transporters, which are of great importance to drug disposition and response. I am particularly interested in genetic variants in membrane transporters that are determinants of drug response and in harnessing transporters to enhance drug targeting.

Search form