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
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.
2024 Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award
Mary Horne, Ph.D.
Please join us in congratulating Associate Professor Mary Horne as the recipient of the 2024 Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award in recognition of her service to the PTX graduate program and excellence in advising and mentoring. Horne is an example of the commitment our faculty have with graduate education and the well-being of our students.
Horne was lauded for her work in the PTX290 "Preparing for the Qualifying exam course" that our students take in their second year to prepare for their oral QE, for her work mentoring specific students in the program who warmly supported her candidacy and for her significant service to the graduate group as an elected member of the Executive Committee, as a recent Chair of the PTX Committee on Education Policy and as a grad advisor for the program.
Crystal Ripplinger Received Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
We are proud to announce that Crystal Ripplinger, Professor of Pharmacology, received the 2023 UC Davis School of Medicine Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Ripplinger was recognized for her work as a mentor and her commitment to providing ongoing opportunities for career development and advancement. This is a well-deserved award recognizing Ripplinger’s many efforts to enhance the academic and research experience of our students and colleagues. Join us in celebrating and congratulating Professor Ripplinger on this important recognition.
Visit the UC Davis Health News page to read more about this outstanding recognition.
For more News see: Department News
Follow us on LinkedIn