UCSF School of Pharmacy

06/01/2026

Curious about the Discovery Project at UCSF School of Pharmacy?

It’s a signature part of our PharmD curriculum where students dive deep into real research — identifying a pharmacy-related question they’re passionate about and investigating it under the guidance of expert faculty mentors. The Discovery Project gives students the chance to apply what they’ve learned in coursework and Inquiry, while exploring brand new topics they may never have encountered before. It’s designed to build critical research skills, foster innovation, and better prepare students for residency, fellowship, and future careers in pharmacy.

Hear directly from our students about what the project entails and why it’s such a valuable part of their journey at UCSF!

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05/29/2026

Not every future pharmacist starts their journey feeling fully ready.

In the case of Jay Samson, PharmD ‘26, Mariah Foley, PharmD ‘21, and Sara Shaikh, PharmD ‘21, the UCSF School of Pharmacy post-baccalaureate program was a game-changer.

From overcoming academic and professional setbacks to building careers in clinical care, leadership, and patient transitions, all three alums credit the program with helping them develop the confidence, discipline, and critical thinking skills needed to succeed.

Today, Samson is preparing to begin a health-system pharmacy administration and leadership residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Foley is a clinical pharmacist at Cottage Health, and Shaikh is a transitions of care pharmacist at UCSF Health.

Read more about how there is no single path into pharmacy: https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2026/05/from-post-bacc-to-practice-where-are-they-now-0

As Samson put it: “An arrow can only be shot by being pulled back.”

05/26/2026

On May 19, the UCSFUCSF School of Pharmacy celebrated 118 new pharmacists as the PharmD Class of 2026 crossed the stage at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. 🎓🎉💐

This year’s graduates represent the future of pharmacy: advocates, researchers, clinicians, and leaders committed to improving health for communities everywhere.

Among the class:

-42% are the first in their families to attend college
-93% are the first in their families to earn a doctoral degree
-More than 80% matched into postgraduate residency programs, fellowships, or advanced training opportunities

Dean Kathy Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm, reminded graduates that pharmacists are often the most accessible health care providers — 89% of Americans living within 5 miles of a pharmacy — and challenged the class to “build bridges, close gaps in patient care, and innovate in ways that improve health for all.”

🔗 Read more about how our Class of 2026 is making us proud: https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2026/05/class-of-2026-steps-into-future-of-pharmacy

05/19/2026

Surrounded by cheering family, friends, faculty, and mentors, the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy celebrated the academic achievements of a new cohort of Doctor of Pharmacy graduates on May 19, 2026, at San Francisco's iconic Davies Symphony Hall.

We’re incredibly proud of our graduates, who now join a legacy of UCSF-trained leaders committed to advancing health and health care innovation through pharmacy.

Take a look at highlights from before, during, and after the ceremony, from being hooded by Dean Kathy Giacomini to handshakes with Chancellor Sam Hawgood. We welcome a new generation of PharmD professionals to the field.
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05/18/2026

For more than six decades at the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy, Professor Emeritus Leslie Benet, PhD ’65, has helped redefine the field of pharmacokinetics, changing how medications are dosed worldwide.

Honored as 2026 UCSF Pharmacy Alumni Association Alum of the Year, Benet, who has received nearly every major honor in pharmaceutical science and added an endowed professorship in 2024, remains focused on discovery.

His decades of research:

💊 established “clearance” as a practical framework for tailoring drug dosing to individual patients

💊 demonstrated the critical role of the intestine in drug metabolism

💊and helped confirm that generic drugs perform as effectively as brand-name medicines.

Yet he’s most excited about what he's doing today, applying Kirchhoff’s laws of physics to pharmacokinetics and challenging decades of conventional thinking.

Over his career, he has trained more than 150 doctoral and postdoctoral scholars. As Benet puts it: “It is a thrill to both make discoveries and to teach mentees who will carry them forward.”

🔗 Read more: https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2026/05/leslie-benet-phd-65-named-2026-ucsf-pharmacy-alumni-association-alum-of-the-year

📷 1: Illustration by John Jay Cabuay

📷 2: Benet in lab (Credit: Majed Abolfazli)

📷 3: UCSF School of Pharmacy Dean Kathy Giacomini with Benet (Credit: Elisabeth Fall)

📷 4: Benet honored with endowed professorship (Credit: Elisabeth Fall)

05/16/2026

From working in his family's construction business to delivering patient care on a reservation, Dallon Barfield’s path to pharmacy has been about creating his own lane.

This week, Barfield was presented with the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award, honoring pharmacy students who make significant contributions to public health.

A PharmD candidate in the UCSF School of Pharmacy Class of 2026, Barfield discovered the Indian Health Service (IHS) through mentorship, including a connection with former assistant surgeon general and UCSF alum Pamela Schweitzer, PharmD ’87.

During his rotation on the Navajo Nation in Chinle, AZ, Barfield learned how to navigate logistics, infrastructure, and, most importantly, trust.

“If you don’t ask the right questions, you could miss something huge and make a medication error,” he said. “Cultural awareness plays a critical role.”

Now pursuing the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, Barfield is focused on cultural immersion and understanding to help expand the scope and impact of his pharmacy practice.

🔗 Read more about his journey: https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2026/05/from-construction-to-care-pharmd-candidate-finds-purpose-in-indian-health-service-0

📷 1: Barfield at UCSF School of Pharmacy White Coat Ceremony

📷 2: Barfield (R) receives a United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award from (L) Lieutenant Commander Dustin Tran, BCPS and (center) Lieutenant Kevin Le, PharmD

📷 3: Barfield (center) with United States Public Health Service officers and staff from the UCSF School of Pharmacy Office of Student Affairs (L to R: Tran; Le; Pharmacy Student Learning Director and PharmD Advisor Julie Reed, MSSW, PhD; Associate Dean of Student Affairs Tram Cat, PharmD; Director of Student Affairs Fraylanie Aglipay; and (in back row) Admissions Director Joel W. Gonzales

05/12/2026

Bani Tamraz, PharmD, PhD, associate professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy Department of Clinical Pharmacy, played a key role in launching the UCSF Clinical Pharmacogenomics Program, California’s first initiative to systematically test for gene-drug interactions.

By embedding genetic data directly into clinical workflows, the program equips prescribers with real-time guidance, helping ensure patients receive medications that are safer and more effective based on their biology.

His work builds on foundational research by Kathryn Phillips, PhD highlighting how genetic variation can significantly influence drug response — and how often those differences are overlooked in standard care. At UCSF Health, that science is now being translated into practice, with pharmacogenetic insights actively guiding prescribing decisions across a growing number of conditions.

In recognition of these efforts, Tamraz and colleague Akinyemi Oni-Orisan, PharmD, PhD, received a 2024 STRIPE Double Helix Award for advancing pharmacogenomics and improving patient outcomes.

Read the full Q&A with Tamraz to learn how our pharmacogenetics research is reshaping patient care by reducing adverse drug reactions and expanding access to precision medicine. https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2026/05/how-pharmacogenomics-is-influencing-patient-care-qa-with-bani-tamraz-pharmd-phd

Differences in people’s genes can affect how they respond to medications, including how well a drug works and the chances of side effects. About 1 in 10 of prescriptions given to patients outside the hospital don’t work as well as they should because of differences in people’s genes, according...

05/08/2026

Congratulations to the Community Outreach Student Alliance (COSA) for winning this year’s Community Education and Service Award from University of California, San Francisco Student Success Center from among over 70 nominations!

This year, COSA participated in over 30 health fairs and assembled 400 care packages. Through strong partnerships with organizations like APhA Foundation and Student National Pharmaceutical Association, they deliver patient-focused care and create outreach experiences that support both personal and professional growth.

05/04/2026

A UCSF research team led by Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences Chair and Professor James Fraser, PhD, and Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Professor William DeGrado, PhD, has pioneered a new method to guide the rapid design of new, super-powered proteins.

Combining directed evolution with fragment screening at BerkeleyLab and SLAC light sources, they created 2 new proteins, including the most active designed enzyme to date. This method could be a simpler pathway to making improved drugs and catalysts.

“Researchers struggle with protein design to make very active enzymes,” said Fraser. “But here, we took this very simple approach, and through directed evolution, we improved an enzyme to make it even more active.”

Read more about how our researchers are collaborating across disciplines and institutions.

Frasier, DeGrado Pioneer Method to Rapidly Design Proteins Frasier, DeGrado Pioneer Method to Rapidly Design Proteins May 4, 2026 A UCSF research team led by Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences Chair and Professor James Fraser, PhD, and Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Profes...

05/01/2026

For Jennifer Cocohoba, PharmD, MAS, who has spent much of her career working in HIV care in addition to being a mentor and community advocate, time is more than a measure of productivity. It’s the foundation for connection.

Selected to deliver UCSF’s 14th annual Sumner and Hermine Marshall Endowed Last Lecture on April 15, Cocohoba, professor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy’s Department of Clinical Pharmacy, reflected on the pressure many in health care careers feel to move quickly through milestones and manage their time as efficiently as possible.

Cocohoba cautioned against having a “checklist mentality” and emphasized that slowing down can open the door to deeper relationships and lasting impact.

Read more to find out how Cocohoba answered the question: If you had one lecture left to give, what would you say? https://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/news/2026/05/jennifer-cocohoba-reflects-on-time-connection-and-care-in-2026-last-lecture