News & Announcements

Elaine Law, PharmD ’08, associate clinical professor of pharmacy practice and regional coordinator for San Jose at the University of the Pacific, hopes to redefine what leadership and membership in professional organizations mean to a new generation.

Here are some of the standout moments from 2024 that drove our commitment to leadership in research, education, patient care, and innovation, all aimed at expanding knowledge and enhancing health worldwide.

The Dean's Apple Teaching Awards for summer/fall 2024 were given to faculty and student instructors who received outstanding scores on student evaluations.

Marcos Contreras, PharmD ’05, MBA, transitioned from medicinal chemistry to pharmacy after an interview at UCSF School of Pharmacy. Leveraging his sterile compounding skills, he moved into nuclear pharmacy and earned an MBA, leading to his role as director of pharmacy at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

PhD students Maddie Blaauw and Jacqueline Williams have been awarded the 2025 Genentech-UCSF School of Pharmacy Diversity Fellowship. This one-year fellowship provides industry experience, new research skills, and the chance to apply for a Genentech summer research internship.

Nearly 40 percent of students at the UCSF School of Pharmacy are first in their families to graduate from college. In honor of National First-Gen Day on Nov. 8, read about our trailblazers and what their determination to succeed brings to our school’s diverse community.

PharmD students honor their outstanding teachers and preceptors.

Jacqueline Parizher, PharmD ’22, a psychiatric clinical pharmacist at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, is at the forefront of psychiatric and substance use disorder care, serving the city’s most vulnerable populations.

Playing to his interpersonal and technical strengths, Christopher Nowak, PharmD, PMP, Class of ‘22, says UCSF’s pharmacy curriculum has helped him thrive at AstraZeneca Rare Disease.

Isela Lopez, from Chula Vista, San Diego, studied physiology and metabolism at UC Berkeley before choosing UCSF to pursue her interest in pathways and drug action.

Two second-year PharmD students joined Dean Kathy Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm, in a School of Pharmacy tradition to amplify the importance of getting vaccinated.

Alexander Gilmer, PharmD, prepares future pharmacy professionals to be pioneers of change by teaching how to provide compassionate and competent care to transgender and nonbinary patients.

Rachael Gordon, PharmD, MPH, uses her background in statistics and analysis to extend her role beyond the clinical, informing research that she hopes will lead to a broader understanding of transplant medicine.

PharmD students in UCSF’s PCRA foster wellness and inspire future health care professionals through recreation, mentorship, and outreach.

Through the Pharmacy Committee of Recreational Activities (PCRA), a group of students is supporting wellness and fostering community while introducing elementary and high school students to the diversity of pharmacy roles in the health care system. 

After teaming up previously in a local skills competition, second-year students Rhea Misra and Isela Lopez earned the opportunity to compete nationally in the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) National Clinical Skills Competition.

UCSF School of Pharmacy instructors, praised for their dedication, have received the Dean’s Apple Teaching Awards for excellent student evaluation scores across several terms in 2023 and 2024.

First-year learners were welcomed to the pharmacy profession with a meaningful blend of tradition and celebration, surrounded by friends, family, faculty, and staff.

Nearly a third of the University of California’s Class of 2024 started their higher education journey at California community colleges, including Warif Kastoun, PharmD, whose plans to run her own local pharmacy in Damascus, Syria, were interrupted by civil war.

Overcoming a neighborhood power outage to receive their PharmD degrees, 120 graduates representing a global village celebrated their official entry into the profession of pharmacy.

Department of Clinical Pharmacy volunteer faculty member Kethen So, PharmD, MBA, challenges students to continuously expand their practice and will be honored on June 11, 2024, as a fellow by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

As one of the few pharmacist-scientists to be elected to the historic society, Giacomini represents excellence in the field as well as dedication to the Academy’s mission of engaging across disciplines and divides.

The programs are aimed at reducing the health care disparities of pharmacy deserts by cultivating interest in pharmacy careers among underserved communities.