UCSD - University of California - San Diego

09/30/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/30/2025 07:05

UC San Diego Pharmacy School Moves Up to No. 4 in Research Funding Rankings

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September 30, 2025

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  • School of Pharmacy
  • Research
  • Funding
  • Rankings

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The University of California San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has moved up three spots from last year to No. 4 in national rankings for research funding, according to data reported by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). In federal fiscal year 2023-2024, the school secured approximately $33 million in competitive research awards from agencies including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Aging, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

"In today's federal funding environment, every dollar is harder to win - and yet our faculty continue to compete at the highest level," said Brookie Best, Pharm.D., M.A.S., dean of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and professor of clinical pharmacy and pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "The outstanding science being done here is making a real impact in children's health, neurodegenerative disease, heart failure, the microbiome and more. But we cannot take this support for granted, without sustained investment at the federal level, transformative research like this is at risk. I want to congratulate our relatively small but incredibly productive faculty for bringing in these awards that place us among the nation's leaders in pharmacy research."

Issued annually, the AACP report compiles total extramural-funded research awards received by U.S. schools of pharmacy. The rankings are based on public databases, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RePORT, and verified through collaboration with institutions to ensure accuracy. This year's list reflects awards received between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024.

"The breadth of our research is extraordinary," said Elizabeth Winzeler, Ph.D., associate dean for research and innovation at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "These grants recognize not only the quality of science, but also the creativity and determination of our faculty. I'm proud to see their work recognized nationally."

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AACP Ranks UC San Diego Pharmacy School in Top Ten Nationally for Research Funding

Major grants driving the pharmacy school's research strength

Studying antibiotic transmission during breastfeeding

Shirley Tsunoda, Pharm.D., professor of clinical pharmacy and associate dean of pharmacy education, is one of the principal investigators of a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The award supports the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Pediatric Precision Pharmacology, where Tsunoda and team lead studies to determine whether antibiotics taken while breastfeeding alter an infant's microbiome, a question with major implications for long-term child health.

Developing new drugs for Alzheimer's and related diseases

Conor Caffrey, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy, is the project leader in this National Institute on Aging grant aimed at developing new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other tau-related neurodegenerative conditions. After the untimely passing of Carlo Bellatore, Ph.D., pharmacy professor who was lead on this grant, Caffrey and his team are advancing this research studying a novel compound, CNDR-51997, that stabilizes the brain's microtubule system - structures critical for healthy neuron function. With federal support, the team is working to move this compound toward human clinical trials.

Regenerating heart muscle after injury

Sylvia Evans, Ph.D., pharmacy professor, is the project leader in this National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grant focused on regenerating heart muscle after injury. Unlike fish or amphibians, the human heart cannot naturally replace lost muscle cells, which is why heart failure remains the leading cause of death worldwide. Evans' research seeks to identify the genetic and metabolic "roadblocks" that prevent human heart cells from dividing and to design strategies to overcome them. The long-term goal is to pave the way for regenerative therapies that could one day allow damaged hearts to heal themselves.

Building the world's largest microbiome chemical library

Pieter Dorrenstein, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy , received a grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to build the largest-ever reference library of microbiome-derived chemicals - up to five million molecules. The microbes in our gut produce countless chemicals that affect human health, but most remain undiscovered. Dorrenstein's team will use an innovative "reverse metabolomics" approach to link these chemicals to foods, diseases and health outcomes. Already, the group has uncovered new bile acid molecules linked to Crohn's disease. The resulting public database will accelerate research into precision nutrition, diagnostics and new therapies.

Topics covered:

  • School of Pharmacy
  • Research
  • Funding
  • Rankings

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