School of Pharmacy

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

Thu Nov 5, 2015

(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.

Bioartificial Kidney: The Next Frontier in ESRD Treatment?

Thu Nov 5, 2015

Update from the Dean - Fall/Winter 2015

Tue Nov 3, 2015

Dean B. Joseph Guglielmo, PharmD
School of Pharmacy
University of California, San Francisco

Strategic planning; Recently received research funding: cancer, Alzheimer's, HIV, type 2 diabetes (Kroetz, Keiser, Gross, Roy); Recent faculty publications: fibrosis, biofilms, gout (DeGrado, Yang, Giacomini); Collaborations and partnerships; Patient care: SB 493, scope of practice for California...

Major funding for The Kidney Project from NIBIB Quantum Program

Tue Nov 3, 2015

Elisabeth Fall

Bioartificial kidney prototype and components.

The research journey toward building a fully functioning, surgically implantable artificial kidney as an alternative to kidney transplant and dialysis just took another step forward with the announcement of a $6 million grant to The Kidney Project, headquartered at the UCSF School of Pharmacy.

Yang study demonstrates simulator to study antibiotic dosing against biofilms

Thu Oct 29, 2015

Katherine Yang

In these multiple images of P. aeruginosa biofilm a bacterial community that takes the form of mushroom-like structures. The main, upper left image looks down at the biofilm, the lower, right-hand images show cross-sections. This biofilm was cultured from the airways of a patient with cystic fibrosis.

Nearly every human bacterial infection—including some of the most serious, life threatening, and costly to treat—can take the form of a biofilm, in which bacteria aggregate into structured communities that enclose themselves within a secreted slime.

The Racial Discrimination Embedded in Modern Medicine

Mon Oct 26, 2015

Desai elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Tue Oct 20, 2015

Cindy Chew

Tejal Desai, PhD

UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty member Tejal Desai, PhD, has been newly elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly known as the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Fischbach joins project to generate drugs from bacterial genomes

Thu Oct 15, 2015

Cindy Chew

Michael Fischbach, PhD

Bacteria generate small molecules to fend off their fellow microbes. They also produce molecules that affect the response of host organisms—including humans—to their presence. Such molecules have been a major source of antibiotics, immunosuppressants, anti-cancer agents, and other drugs.

Brilliant 10: Zev Gartner Builds Tissues That Snap Together Like Legos

Wed Sep 30, 2015

Benet to receive ISSX North American Scientific Achievement Award

Wed Sep 23, 2015

Leslie Benet, PhD

UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty member Leslie Benet, PhD, has been named the 2015 recipient of the North American Scientific Achievement Award, presented by the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics (ISSX).

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