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Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Spring 2024

This month I met with our first-year students, a tradition since our school's founding. Hearing from our bright and talented students filled me with excitement for the future of pharmacy and pride for our school. Today I'm delighted to share highlights of the many accomplishments of our students, faculty and staff.

I am proud to report our students continue to shine across multiple educational metrics. We were once again ranked among the top pharmacy schools in the nation based on first-time North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX®) pass rates, and #1 in California based on Phase I match rates and California Pharmacist Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE) scores.

Our scientists made critical research advances, including uncovering a "molecular Rosetta stone" that could decipher messages from our microbiome and revolutionize the way we develop new medicines. In addition, an international collaboration has formed that aims to develop the first-ever vaccine for Strep A, an infection that too often is deadly for children. 

We also caught up with one of our outstanding students, Samantha Russo, a champion for wellness at our school, and an alumnus of our Pharm.D./Ph.D. program, Andrew Willeford, who is now a clinical faculty member at SSPPS. 

Finally, I encourage you to take a moment to complete our strategic plan survey. Your perspectives are invaluable in ensuring the continued future success of our school.

Brookie M. Best, Pharm.D., M.A.S. (she/her/hers)
Dean and Professor

We are delighted to share we were once again ranked among the top pharmacy schools in the nation based on first-time North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX®) pass rates and #1 in California based on California Pharmacist Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE) scores. 

We are proud to report we are the #1 pharmacy school in California based on Phase I residency match rates, with more than 80% of our applicants matching to a residency. Congratulations to all who matched, and we wish those who continue on the best of luck in the Phase II match.

Grace Riggs (right) placed first in the American Pharmacists Association - Academy of Student Pharmacists National Patient Counseling Competition, which recognizes students with exceptional patient education skills. Riggs outcompeted more than 100 participants and is the second SSPPS student to win the competition in the past three years.

Our Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) student chapter was one of only five teams from more than 100 pharmacy schools across the nation—and the only West Coast school—to advance to the final round of the National Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Competition. The final round will take place at AMCP 2024.

We were delighted to celebrate our master's program's fifth birthday with our 2022-2023 graduating class and alumni at the Hilton Torrey Pines in San Diego. In a recent survey, 40% of alumni reported acquiring new or better positions in various fields and nearly 20% who remained with their employers received promotions. 

Thousands of previously unknown bile acids, a type of molecule used by our gut microbiome to communicate with the body, were discovered by Professor Pieter Dorrestein and his lab. The research, which could potentially revolutionize the way we approach disease, was published in Cell. 

For many children, Strep A can be life threatening or cause severe heart damage. Now, an international collaboration co-led by Professor Victor Nizet in partnership with Imperial College London scientists will unite 28 investigators from 11 countries in hopes of creating the first-ever vaccine for the infection.

A study by Professor Dong Wang and Postdoctoral Researcher Juntaek Oh that demonstrates how artificial DNA is recognized during transcription was one of the 25 most downloaded Nature Communications articles in the life and biological sciences published in 2023, indicating the discovery's value to the scientific community.

PGY1 residents who had a faculty member involved in their research projects were three times as likely to publish compared to those who did not, according to a study by Professor Nimish Patel and Dr. Vi Nguyen, a preceptor at UC San Diego Health. The study was published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy.

Photo credit: American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy

Generic drug shortages are a national public health risk, pharmacy policy expert Inmaculada Hernández explained to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee during a recent hearing. Hernández's policy recommendations were included in a subsequent white paper from the committee detailing a plan to prevent future generic drug shortages.

Founded in 2016 by a tight-knit group of pharmacy students with a passion for classical music, Serotones sees music as healing. The group performs at hospitals and senior homes and raises funds for healthcare through charity concerts.

Our students screened more than 70 people for high blood pressure, high blood glucose and high cholesterol/BMI, and educated the public about organ donation at Kobey's Swap Meet, one of the largest flea markets in San Diego. 

Our Summer Research Program, an optional program for students seeking research experience, culminated with students presenting their findings at a poster symposium. Posters were judged for best use of citations by our Biomedical Library staff, who selected Catherine Liu's poster as the first place winner.

We were delighted to celebrate Administrative Coordinator Nick Vistro's engagement with a wedding shower featuring games such as "he said, she said," fun prizes, thoughtful gifts, delicious treats and more. We wish Nick and fiancée Margaret Ocadiz all the best in this exciting new chapter of their lives! 

We caught up with Samantha Russo, a third-year Pharm.D. student and current president of the student chapter of the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) at UC San Diego, to learn about her work with our school’s wellness program and her efforts to support mental health and wellness in our community. 

Assistant Professor Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir (center left) shares more about her work improving access to healthcare for those who are racially and socially marginalized. Abdul-Mutakabbir also holds a joint appointment with the Black Diaspora and African American Studies program at UC San Diego.

In collaboration with the American Pacific Health Foundation, our students held a "Healthy Dragons for Tết Festival" outreach event, screening more than 50 people for high blood glucose and cholesterol and sharing information about managing diabetes, cholesterol and tips for healthy living. 

Congratulations to Associate Professor Ila Saunders, who was selected for the 2024 Fall Cohort of the UC San Diego Health: Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship. Saunders will learn about applying arts and humanities lessons to medical communication with the goal of improving communication among healthcare teams. 

We were delighted to celebrate Tết with the Vietnamese Pharmacists Association - USA, where we also honored our student scholarship recipients Jennifer Le (center) and Jonathan Nguyen (center right) and Affiliate Faculty Member Binh Tran (center left) who received an Outstanding Leadership Award for her work as president of the organization.  

Brenna Dooley received the San Diego Society of Health-System Pharmacists (SDSHP) Student Leadership Award, which recognizes student pharmacists for outstanding contributions to the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP) and the profession of pharmacy.

Dr. Timothy Chen, a clinical pharmacist at VA San Diego Health Care System, was selected for the United States Under Secretary of Health Excellence in Pharmacy Practice award. The award honors an individual pharmacist practitioner who has demonstrated excellence in direct veterans care. 

We caught up with Andrew Willeford, who graduated from our dual Pharm.D./Ph.D. program in 2019, to learn more about his experience working in academic medicine and how his degree has contributed to his career success. 

This winter our SSPPS community gathered to honor the life of beloved Emeritus Professor David Adler. A dedicated educator and visionary pharmacist, Adler taught thousands of pharmacy students and residents, established the Pharm.D. program at UC San Diego that ultimately became SSPPS, helped found the UC San Diego Student-Run Free Clinic Project and established a program that enabled refugee pharmacists from Vietnam to practice in the U.S. Adler's legacy lives on through our school, the many students he taught and his beautiful family.

The Adler family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to the David and Penny Adler Endowed Scholarship Fund. 

We encourage everyone to contribute their perspectives as we develop our next strategic plan. The survey should only take 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and focuses on topics such as academic excellence, research innovation, education and training, community engagement and future growth opportunities. Please share your insights by March 29 by completing the survey or emailing sspps-strategic-plan@health.ucsd.edu. For an overview of our strategic planning efforts, please visit our website. 

Assistant Professor Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir explains to The Atlantic why its crucial for people to get the new COVID-19 vaccine.

Professor Nathan Painter spoke to ABC 10News about how high-potency marijuana can damage the teenage brain. 

Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is committed to improving human health through inspired teaching, groundbreaking research and outstanding patient care. Gifts at every level help accelerate our life-saving research and strengthen our ability to train the next generation of pharmacists, pharmaceutical researchers and drug developers. 

You may opt out of receiving fundraising information for UC San Diego Health by contacting us toll-free at 1-800-588-2734 or by emailing optout-hsdev@ucsd.edu. Your treatment or payment will not be affected by your choice to opt out of a fundraising communication.