Biography
Dr. Giacomini is a world-renowned pharmacologist with many years of research experience focused on transporter biology and pharmacogenomics. Her research is focused on influx transporters, particularly influx transporters involved in drug disposition and targeting. In the early 2000s, she began a comprehensive research program focused on pharmacogenomics of membrane transporters and published many papers ranging from functional genomics of transporter polymorphisms to clinical studies elucidating the role of transporter polymorphisms on clinical drug response. Dr. Giacomini is also the Co-Principal Investigator of the UCSF-Stanford Center of Excellence in Regulatory Sciences and Innovation (CERSI), a major center funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with the goal of advancing scientific issues related to the safe and effective use of medical products. She has been recognized by many awards and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. In 2022, she was appointed dean of the UCSF School of Pharmacy.
Talk
Functional Genomics of Transporters: Informing Precision Medicine
To predict the effects of genetic variation on drug response, it is critical to understand the functional effects of rare and common variants. I will describe functional and computational studies focused on coding region variants of OCT1, a transporter that plays a role in human disease and drug response.
Track Co-Chair:
Mary Relling, St. Jude
Pharmacists have long recognized that using unique patient characteristics to guide pharmacotherapy decision-making can improve drug response and mitigate drug-associated risks. Age, weight, and dietary habits were among the first patient-specific characteristics used to individualize pharmacotherapy. As technologies advanced, analytic tools that measure surrogate markers of liver and renal function, together with drug concentrations in biological fluids, were adopted to optimize therapeutic regimens. Cutting-edge genomic technologies are now being integrated into patient care for the selection of targeted therapies and identification of those at increased risk of poor pharmacotherapy outcomes. We’re excited to bring together experts who are advancing pharmacogenomics at scale through cutting edge clinical implementation, research, and education.