Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate students unparalleled training for future careers in
pharmacy, medicine, and biomedical research. Our innovative, rigorous curriculum integrates concepts from biology, chemistry,
chemical engineering, pharmacology and physiology. Alumni pursue exciting professional opportunities that improve our society’s health
and well-being.
Pharmaceutical scientists are rapidly changing the field of drug discovery and development. Graduates of our program are well qualified to seek employment in the public and private sectors, or pursue graduate degrees such as PhD, MD, or PharmD.
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What are the Pharmaceutical Sciences?
Drug Discovery and Design
Drug Discovery and Design deals with the design and synthesis of new drug molecules. This Category Includes specialized fields of study such as medicinal chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, structural biology, identification of biological targets, and assay development to test drug candidates.
Drug Delivery
Drug Delivery is concerned with the design of dosage forms — such as tablets, injections or patches — that will deliver the drug to the site of action in a patient. The purpose is to ensure that the drug arrives in the right concentration and at the right time. Specialty fields within Drug Delivery include pharmaceutics, biomaterials, and pharmacokinetics.
Drug Action
Drug Action examines how the drug itself actually works in a living system, which is the definition of pharmacology. The action of the drug can be studied at the molecular level, in a cell, an organ, and in animals. Specialty fields within Drug Action include molecular biology, pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, toxicology, and biochemistry. Pharmaceutics, biomaterials, and pharmacokinetics.
Clinical Sciences
Clinical Sciences are concerned with the use of drugs in the treatment of diseases. Particular properties of new drugs — such as efficacy, adverse effects, drug-to-drug interaction, bioavailability — are determined in clinical trials in humans.
Cost Effectiveness of Medicine
Cost Effectiveness of Medicines (Pharmacoeconomics) examines the economic impact of using one drug rather than others, with regard to costs for the drug itself, patient management (e.g., physician visits, hospitalization), adherence and quality of life.
Drug Analysis
Drug Analysis involves separating, identifying, and quantifying the components of a sample. Analytical chemistry is an important component of all areas of the pharmaceutical sciences.
Regulatory Affairs
Regulatory Affairs promotes communication, understanding, and cooperation between scientists from industry and academia and the regulatory authorities worldwide who govern approval and distribution, by means of developing regulatory guidelines.
More and more, these categories are beginning to overlap. For example, a scientific engineer working in Drug Delivery needs to understand how toxicology affects Drug Action, and a chemist working in Drug Discovery and Design must know about the pharmacokinetics of Drug Delivery. For this reason, pharmaceutical scientists are required to have a broad base of knowledge in a variety of sciences.
Academic Programs
Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty
Name | Title | Accepting Graduate Students? | Department(s) | Phone # | Office | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amal Alachkar Alachkar Lab | Professor of Teaching | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | aalachka@uci.edu | 949.824.2591 | ||
Lauren Albrecht Albrecht Lab | Assistant Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | l.albrecht@uci.edu | 949.824.9305 | ||
Claudia Benavente Benavente Lab | Associate Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Developmental & Cell Biology | claudia.benavente@uci.edu | 949.824.7845 | 108 Sprague Hall | |
John Chaput Chaput Lab | Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemistry Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering | jchaput@uci.edu | 949.824.8149 | 2216 Natural Sciences 1 | |
Olivier Civelli Civelli Lab | Professor Eric L. and Lila D. Nelson Chair in Neuropharmacology | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Developmental & Cell Biology | ocivelli@uci.edu | 949.824.2522 | ||
Celia Goulding Goulding Lab | Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Molecular Biology & Biochemistry | celia.goulding@uci.edu | 949.824.0337 | 2212 Natural Sciences 1 | |
Stephen Hanessian | Distinguished Professor | No | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemistry | shanessi@uci.edu | 949.824.5449 | 3134C Natural Sciences 1 | |
Naoto Hoshi | Associate Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Physiology & Biophysics | nhoshi@uci.edu | 949.824.0969 | ||
Mahtab Jafari Jafari Lab | Professor Equity Advisor | No | Pharmaceutical Sciences Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | mjafari@uci.edu | 949.824.0145 | 3232 McGaugh Hall | |
Young Jik Kwon Kwon Lab | Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemical & Materials Science Biomedical Engineering | kwonyj@uci.edu | 949.824.8714 | 132 Sprague Hall | |
Andrej Luptak Luptak Lab | Professor Chair | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemistry Molecular Biology & Biochemistry | aluptak@uci.edu | 949.824.9132 | 2141 Natural Sciences II | |
Thomas Martinez Martinez Lab | Assistant Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | t.martinez@uci.edu | 949.824.0943 | ||
David Mobley Mobley Lab | Professor Vice Chair | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemistry | dmobley@uci.edu | 949.824.6383 | 3134B Natural Sciences 1 | |
Brian Paegel Paegel Lab | Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemistry Biomedical Engineering | bpaegel@uci.edu | 949.824.9368 | ||
Larry Plon | Assistant Adjunct Professor | No | Pharmaceutical Sciences | lplon@uci.edu | - | 231F Steinhaus Hall | |
Thomas Poulos | Distinguished Professor | No | Pharmaceutical Sciences Molecular Biology & Biochemistry Chemistry | poulos@uci.edu | 949.824.7020 | 2206 Natural Sciences I | |
Sam Schriner Schriner Lab | Associate Professor of Teaching Vice Chair | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | schriner@uci.edu | 949.824.1653 | 231C Steinhaus Hall | |
Benita Sjogren Sjogren Lab | Assistant Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | jsjogren@uci.edu | 101 Theory, Ste 100 | ||
Robert Spitale Spitale Lab *on leave (2022-23) | Founding Associate Dean of Research and Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences Chemistry Molecular Biology & Biochemistry | rspitale@uci.edu | 949.824.7655 | 2214 Natural Sciences 1 | |
Darci Trader Trader Lab | Associate Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | dtrader@uci.edu | Reines Hall 3003 | ||
Qun-Yong Zhou | Professor | Yes | Pharmaceutical Sciences | qzhou@uci.edu | 949.824.2232 | ||
Weian Zhao Zhao Lab | Professor | No | Pharmaceutical Sciences Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center | weianz@uci.edu | 949.824.9744 | 3027 Gross Hall |