News

Computer models speed UCSF scientists toward psychiatric drug discoveries

Mon Oct 23, 2017

For decades, scientists have wanted to be able to study dopamine receptors one by one. The brain’s dopamine receptors are responsible for a variety of behaviors, such as reward seeking, and are also involved in psychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia. There are five types of dopamine receptors, and psychiatric drugs usually affect multiple...

Novel diabetes treatment developed in Desai Lab to power SF-area startup

Thu Oct 19, 2017

A UC San Francisco-created, insulin-generating implant that utilizes nanotechnology is closer to becoming a real treatment for diabetes, after being acquired by a San Francisco-based startup.

The biotechnology company Encellin acquired exclusive worldwide rights to the technology, originally developed in the laboratory of Tejal Desai,...

Student speaker Ana Cruz shares her path to pharmacy and activism

Thu Oct 19, 2017

Ana Cruz knew, when she was very young, exactly what she wanted to do when she grew up, she told the UCSF doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) Class of 2021 at their White Coat ceremony.

She wanted the same job as the woman in white.

Now, Cruz is a PharmD student in the Class of 2018, and was the student speaker at the event, held Friday...

Class of ’21 joins ranks of pharmacy at White Coat Ceremony

Wed Oct 18, 2017

For the UCSF doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) Class of 2021, October 13 was the day they officially entered the profession. In a ceremony on the Parnassus campus, each student donned a white coat, a symbol of health care professionals for more than 100 years.

“Today marks your transition from lay person to full-fledged professional,” Dean B...

Wired magazine visits The Kidney Project

Fri Oct 6, 2017

Kidney failure is a debilitating and ultimately deadly illness, and a health policy crisis. With 468,000 people on dialysis in the U.S., costing the government $31 billion dollars a year, very little money is spent on researching alternatives to current treatments.

Wired magazine’s Megan Molteni visited Shuvo Roy, PhD, to check in on...

Alumni give PharmD Class of 2021 a warm welcome, and some advice

Tue Oct 3, 2017

Somewhere between the pleasant September evening in San Francisco, the lively conversation about the profession of pharmacy, and the excellent wine, there were potential long-term professional connections in the making.

Solid mentorships can catalyze amazing careers, but mentors are also hard to find, let alone develop. For the doctor...

School of Pharmacy welcomes Class of 2021

Mon Sep 25, 2017

The newest UCSF doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) class gathered for the first time on Wednesday, September 20, in San Francisco’s foggy Golden Gate Park. Although it was their first time meeting in person, class members have been getting to know each other online for months.

The Class of 2021 spent the week in orientation, learning about...

Update from the Dean - September 2017

Wed Sep 20, 2017

Strategic plan progress report. Research: Driving the development of innovative and precise drugs, medical devices, and diagnostic tests. Flu treatments; Tackling antimalarial resistance; Attacking hard targets; Plotting cell maps; Safer opioid pain killer; Cellular construction; New products through bioengineering; Regulatory science leadership;...

Giacomini to receive North American Scientific Achievement Award

Tue Sep 5, 2017

Kathy Giacomini, PhD, a leader in the field of pharmacogenomics, has been named the 2017 recipient of the North American Scientific Achievement Award, presented by the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX). ISSX is an international association of scientists that promotes the understanding of the interactions of medicines and...