Welcome to the Department of Pharmacology
Welcome to the Department of Pharmacology in the UC Davis School of Medicine. The Department comprises a dynamic group of faculty, researchers and students from diverse backgrounds undertaking investigations to reveal biological mechanisms that will ultimately lead to discovery of novel understanding of physiological and pathological mechanisms, identification of potential therapeutic targets and development of new strategies for a variety of human diseases.
The Department is led by Chair Donald Bers, Ph.D. and the Executive Advisory Group that includes Johannes W. Hell, Ph.D. (Vice-Chair for Academic Development), Crystal M. Ripplinger, Ph.D., (Vice-Chair for Research and Administration) and Heike Wulff, Ph.D. (Vice-Chair for Education). The Pharmacology Department is part of the basic biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine. The Department and its Faculty have strong connections with multiple UC Davis Graduate Groups, other Departments (in multiple colleges) and Research Centers constituting a powerful interactive high-quality research team. The faculty are also committed to excellence in teaching and service (both at UC Davis and beyond). UC Davis Pharmacology is one of the nation's top ranked pharmacology departments in federal research funding and hosts a diverse group of postdoctoral trainees and graduate students from different Graduate Groups.
Two of the strongest research areas within the department are Cardiovascular and Neuroscience at multiple levels, and in a highly collaborative environment of considerable international reputation. Along with other research areas, our work is unified by a common goal - to understand mechanistically the critical building blocks of biological systems from molecules to cells and organ systems, in health and disease, and to identify components that can be modified through pharmacology or other therapeutic strategies to cure disease. Please visit our Research Overview page and Faculty Research pages for details of ongoing work in the individual departmental laboratories.
Spotlight on Our Pharmacology Team
Bence Hegyi Receives 2025 Geneen Award
We are pleased to announce that Bence Hegyi, M.D., Ph.D. has received the 2025 Geneen Charitable Trust Award for Coronary Heart Disease Research. His grant entitled “Targeting CaMKII O-GlcNAcylation in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction” has been awarded for a 2-year period starting January 1, 2025.
Bence is a Project Scientist in the Bers group. His research focuses on studying molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for the development of cardiac arrhythmias in heart failure and diabetes. Congratulations, Bence on this outstanding accomplishment!
For more details on the Geneen Award, including submission dates and guidelines, please visit Health Resources in Action website.
Manuel F. Navedo Receives 2025 Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship
Proud to announce that Manuel F. Navedo, Professor of Pharmacology, was named the recipient of the 2025 Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship. This award is presented to an established leader in cardiovascular physiology research whose current research is particularly stimulating. Navedo will be giving the Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship at the upcoming 2025 APS Summit in Baltimore, MD. Manuel thanks and appreciates the encouragement, feedback, and effort of postdocs, students, colleagues, collaborators, and friends.
Visit the UC Davis Health News page to read more about this outstanding recognition.
Gill Heart and Vascular Institute Early Career Award
Proud to announce that our colleague Jessica Caldwell, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Ripplinger Lab, was selected to receive the prestigious Gill Heart and Vascular Institute Early Career Award conferred by the University of Kentucky. This award recognizes an early career investigator for innovation and creativity that has impacted cardiovascular research and/or advancements in clinical care. Caldwell is a rising star in the cardiovascular field. Also, go and check out her recently published work in Circulation Research that also got the cover!!!
Learn more about Caldwell’s many achievements from here and here.
For more News see: Department News
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