Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice

The Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice offers unparalleled training for future careers in pharmacy. Our innovative curriculum focuses on integrative health and putting the patient first. Our goal is to train students in the classroom and in the field to improve our society’s health and well-being.

The Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice is an essential component of the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences as it is the home of our clinical pharmacy practice faculty, who are developing and delivering didactic and experiential curricula for the Doctor of Pharmacy program.

"Our clinical faculty are involved in collaborative research across a range of clinical foci, such as new drug clinical trials, drug adherence research, pharmacokinetics, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacogenomics, pharmacoeconomics, and outcomes research."

- Alexandre Chan, Pharm.D., MPH, FCCP, FISOPP, BCPS, BCOP

Strategic Plan for UCI Pharmacy

Since the start of 2021, pharmacy leaders from the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) and the UCI Medical Center’s Department of Pharmaceutical Services have met to discuss the strategic direction of the two units.

The UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is part of the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which combines with the UCI Health clinical enterprise to form UCI Health Affairs. The synergy between UCI Health and the academic disciplines of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, public health, and integrative health, enables UCI to transform education, discovery, and patient care.

To expand the collaboration between the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and the UCI Medical Center Department of Pharmacy, leaders from both units will focus on six strategic initiatives from 2021 through 2023. The six initiatives will serve as the foundation for longer-term strategic planning that will begin in 2023.

Clinical Pharmacy Practice News

Aryana Sepassi Joins UC Irvine as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy

Sepassi's expertise will be key in the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceuitcal Sciences and the UCI Medical Center developing a population health pharmacy program.

Aya Ozaki Joins UC Irvine as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy

Prior to joining UCI, Ozaki completed a fellowship in cardiovascular outcomes research under Western University of Health Sciences, where she developed and conducted outcomes research using clinical and administrative databases.

UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Shares Community Information Session on COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots

On Sept. 14, the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences hosted a community information session on the COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, from the science behind them to current recommendations.

UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Develops Strategic Plan with UCI Medical Center Department of Pharmacy

Watanabe and Hirsch Lead Development of Patient-Centered Framework to Advance Precision Medicine

In an effort to tailor treatment options to the patient’s needs and improve quality of care, a pair of faculty leaders from the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences developed a patient-centered framework to advance personalized medicine.

Nana Entsuah Joins UC Irvine as a Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor

In addition to her faculty role at UCI, Nana Entsuah will also serve as a geriatric clinical pharmacist at the UCI Health SeniorHealth Center.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Keri Hurley-Kim, a Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor within the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, answers some questions about vaccines.

Shawn Griffin Joins UC Irvine as Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor

Griffin is a Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist and prior to joining UCI, he worked as an oncology pharmacist and clinical pharmacist in hematology, stem cell transplant, and immune cell therapy at the Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Chan, McBane Lead UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Presentations at AACP Conference

When the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) hosted its annual meeting from July 19 through July 22, several UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) faculty presented their recent work.

Cheryl Wisseh Awarded Grant to Study Racial Disparities in Diabetes Drug Regimens and Results

Diabetes is a growing epidemic, especially in the Hispanic community, and while increased prescribing of anti-diabetic medications to delay, manage and reduce the disease is justified, it can also add a further layer of regimen complexity that may have a negative effect on adherence.

Founding Dean Jan Hirsch Discusses How Comprehensive Medication Management Improves Patient Outcomes

Eighty percent of the way we treat and prevent illness is through medications. With that in mind, it is extremely important to get the medications right. Avoidable illness and death resulting from non-optimized medication therapy cost $528.4 billion in 2016, according to a peer-reviewed research paper in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

Melanie Joe Serves as a Bridge Between the Academic and Clinical Sides of UCI Health Affairs

In her unique role, Melanie Joe serves as the Founding Associate Dean for Pharmacy Professional Affairs at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) and Chief Pharmacy Officer for UCI Health.

Mission

To cultivate future-ready pharmacists to optimize individualized medication therapy through education, practice and research.

Vision

The Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice strives to be in the frontier of healthcare by transforming pharmacy practice.

Pharmaceutical Sciences & Clinical Pharmacy Practice Intertwined

Collaborations within the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences will allow interdisciplinary research and training in pharmaceutical sciences, biomedical sciences and clinical pharmacy.

Clinical Pharmacy Faculty

Name	Title	Email
Christine Cadiz, PharmD, M.A., BCPS	Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor	christine.cadiz@uci.edu
Alexandre Chan, PharmD, MPH, FCCP,FISOPP, BCPS, BCOP, APh	Professor and Founding Chair	a.chan@uci.edu
Nana Entsuah, PharmD	Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor	nentsuah@uci.edu
Shawn Griffin, PharmD, BCOP	Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor	shawn.griffin@uci.edu
Jan Hirsch, BS Pharm, MS, PhD, FNAP	Founding Dean and Professor	jdhirsch@uci.edu
Keri Hurley-Kim, PharmD, MPH, BCACP	Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor	khurleyk@uci.edu
Melanie Joe, PharmD, MPA, FCSHP	Founding Associate Dean for Pharmacy Professional Affairs	mdjoe@uci.edu
John Jones, BS Pharm, JD, FAMCP	Part-Time Health Sciences Clinical Professor	johndj@uci.edu
Joyce Lee, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, BCACP, APh	Health Sciences Clinical Professor	j.lee@uci.edu
Sarah McBane, PharmD, CDE, BCPS, FCCP, FCPhA, APh	Founding Associate Dean of Pharmacy Education and Health Sciences Clinical Professor	smcbane@uci.edu
Lee Nguyen, PharmD, APh, BCPS-AQ ID, BCIDP	Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor	l.nguyen@uci.edu
Megan Nguyen, PharmD	Founding Associate Dean of Pharmacy Student Affairs and Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor	megan.nguyen@uci.edu
Aya Ozaki, PharmD	Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy	afozaki@uci.edu
Aryana Sepassi, PharmD	Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy	asepassi@uci.edu
Jonathan Watanabe, PharmD, M.S, Ph.D., BCGP	Founding Associate Dean of Pharmacy Assessment and Quality and Professor in Clinical Pharmacy	jonathan.watanabe@uci.edu
Cheryl Wisseh, PharmD, MPH	Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor	cwisseh@uci.edu