News & Announcements

The Executive Vice Dean and Department of Clinical Pharmacy professor is being recognize for a career of thoughtfully directing brilliant minds toward their potential and ensuring equitable access for the next generation of health professionals.

Serendipitous teamwork between Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Professors and lab partners Steven Altschuler, PhD, and Lani Wu, PhD, and Catherine Lomen-Hoerth, MD, PhD, director of the ALS Center at UCSF, is developing a new approach to classifying and treating the complex neurodegenerative disease.

Sophia Miliotis, a PhD student in the school's Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics (PSPG) program, took home the top prize at the University of California’s systemwide 2025 Grad Slam.

Powerful drug candidates perform better than Paxlovid against SARS-CoV-2 and could head off future coronavirus pandemics. The research, from a team at UCSF and Gladstone Institutes that includes School of Pharmacy researchers, has stalled since the grant was cut.

The Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences professor will lead a new global research initiative with Freie Universität Berlin, establishing a Berlin-based lab to advancing cross-border collaboration and innovation in structural biology, infectious disease and therapeutic discovery.

Led by Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences Assistant Professor Willow Coyote-Maestas, PhD, MS, and presented by the school’s Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), the symposium — which is open to all — aims to build a thriving community for Native and Indigenous scientists in academia.

In honor of National Preceptor Appreciation Month, we hear from preceptors who play an essential role in these educational experiences, guiding students as they refine their skills, gain confidence and prepare for future roles as pharmacists.

We asked the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry associate professor how helping to uncover the fundamental principles of our smell perception could improve understanding of how other proteins in the body recognize small molecules, including potential new drugs.

Sophia Miliotis and Maggie Colton Cove came in first and second place among 10 graduate student finalists in the annual competition who delivered three-minute presentations to explain their research in an engaging, lay-friendly manner. Milotis also won the People’s Choice award. 

Through hands-on workshops, direct community service, and health care-focused outreach, dedicated learners who volunteer for student-led initiatives extend the school’s mission to expand knowledge and improve the health outcomes of people everywhere.

Eleven innovative projects with the potential to further the mission of the UCSF School of Pharmacy in new ways will garner a financial boost from the 2025 Mary Anne Koda-Kimble Seed Award for Innovation.

The school’s vice dean of research received the award at an annual event that fosters scientific exchange among experts in biochemistry and molecular biology, where she delivered a lecture that delved into her work on the creation of novel proteins and their applications in engineering molecular and cellular functions.

With call centers in Fresno/Madera, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego, the California Poison Control System (CPCS) serves as a crucial safety public health safety net, providing free, confidential and multilingual assistance on over 250,000 calls annually that range from accidental ingestions to occupational and environmental chemical exposures and drug overdoses.

The UCSF School of Pharmacy is leading a new National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine workshop that will bring together leaders and experts nationwide to address pressing workforce issues and formulate strategies that will shape the future of pharmacy.

The QBI Coronavirus Research Group (QCRG) fast-tracked antiviral drug discovery by partnering with scientists around the globe and around the clock, deepening understanding of how viruses attack cells and shaping the future of pandemic preparedness.

As COVID-19 cases began rising in San Francisco, UCSF Health mobilized to vaccinate thousands of frontline workers; secured and rapidly deployed new therapeutics; and worked with public health and pharmacy leaders nationwide to share protocols and best practices as new therapies emerged, while promoting equitable access.

One of California’s first COVID-19 patients reflects on her hospitalization during the earliest days of the pandemic and the perspective she gained on patient care and the expanded scope of the pharmacy profession.

UCSF School of Pharmacy experts share their perspectives on the lessons learned from the pandemic and the evolving role of pharmacy in strengthening public health, advancing scientific discovery and preparing for future global challenges.

The School of Pharmacy's Town Hall on March 6, 2025 addressed the following topics: updates from Dean Kathy Giacomini, a update on the launch of the new Pharm Tech to PharmD Pathway Program, a discussion on the flexible work strategy, and research lightning talks from four faculty members.