The Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist Program – Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences

The Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist Program (CPSP) is a specialty track of the PhD program in which students gain expertise in translational pharmacotherapeutics by investigating both the clinical and mechanistic elements of drug therapy.

Students learn the skills to become independent investigators who utilize contemporary research approaches to generate new knowledge applicable to the disposition and activity of drugs in humans and evaluate differences in drug response among individuals.

Earn your PhD
at Pitt Pharmacy!

View the curriculum, competencies achieved, and application info

Meet the Current students

Member list

Samantha Bailey

PharmD

PhD Student

Shambhavi Parab

PhD Student

Olivia Romano

PhD Student

Yuqian Zhao

PhD Student

OUr legacy of training leaders

We were one of the first programs in the U.S. to offer this unique training in clinical pharmaceutical sciences. To date, over 75 graduates have earned their PhD since 1987 and now play key leadership roles in academia, government, and the pharmaceutical industry. Meet the past graduates and view their dissertations below.

2026

Joshua Deppas, PhD

Exposure-response relationships of ATR inhibitors in cancer therapy

Advisor: Jan H. Beumer, PharmD, PharmD, PhD

An Le, PharmD, PhD

Understanding biological factors affecting drug distribution in mucosal tissue using in vitro and ex vivo approaches

Advisor:
Lisa Rohan, PhD

2025

Madeline Kreider, PharmD, PhD

Translational pharmacogenomic approaches to understanding capecitabine-induced hand-foot syndrome

Advisor:
Philip E. Empey, PharmD, PhD

Andrew Haddad, PharmD, PhD

Population-scale pharmacogenomics to improve testing in diverse populations

Advisor:
Philip E. Empey, PharmD, PhD

2024

Morgan Butrovich, PharmD, PhD

Optimizing anticancer pharmacotherapy in kidney disease: estimation of kidney function and evaluation of heterogeneous kinase inhibitor pharmacokinetics

Advisor:
Thomas Nolin, PharmD, PhD

Madeline Lipp, PharmD, PhD

Approaches to targeting tissue resident memory T cells in diseases of the lung

Advisor:
Kerry M. Empey, PharmD, PhD

Keito Hoshitsuki, PharmD, PhD

Investigation of immunologic and hepatic adverse effects of asparaginase

Advisor:
Christian Fernandez, PhD

Jonathan Birabaharan, PhD

Translational insights into the pharmacokinetics of morphine and M3G in traumatic brain injury: understanding the implications for secondary injury

Advisor:
Philip E. Empey, PharmD, PhD

2023

Nupur Chaphekar, MS, PhD

Application of modeling and simulation to predict drug exposure and response during pregnancy

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

2022

Ruichao Xu, PhD

Assessment of hepatic metabolic function of the donor and the recipient in living donor liver transplantation

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Karryn Crisamore, PharmD, PhD

Approaches for precision sedation with dexmedetomidine in critically ill children

Advisor:
Philip E. Empey, PharmD, PhD

Brian Kiesel, MS, PhD

The pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and immunological effects of the oral ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related inhibitors AZD6738 (ceralasertib) and BAY-1895344 (elimusertib)

Advisor:
Jan H. Beumer, PharmD, PhD

2021

Chenxiao Tang, MS, PhD

Developing novel and optimizing available cns therapies: preclinical development of 20-HETE formation inhibitors and population pharmacokinetics of propofol in icu patients

Advisor:
Samuel Poloyac, PharmD, PhD

2020

Yoko Franchetti, PhD

Individualized physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling of rate data (iPBPK-R): a novel approach to estimate the effect of kidney disease on nonrenal elimination pathways

Advisor:
Thomas Nolin, PharmD, PhD

2019

Alexander Prokopienko, PharmD, PhD

Effect of kidney disease and gut-derived uremic toxins on flavin monooxygenases: clinical and translational research studies

Advisor:
Thomas Nolin, PharmD, PhD

Fanuel Hagos, PhD

The role of membrane transporters in traumatic brain injury: interventional and genetic investigations

Advisor:
Philip E. Empey, PharmD, PhD

Hongfei Zhang, PhD

Optimization of buprenorphine dosing in pregnant women.

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Lingjue Li, MS, PhD

Alternation of cerebral blood flow after neurovascular injury

Advisor:
Samuel Poloyac, PharmD, PhD

Katie Eichinger, PharmD, PhD

Characterization and immunomodulation of the infant immune response to respiratory syncytial virus

Advisor:
Kerry M. Empey, PharmD, PhD

2018

Rujuta Joshi, PhD

Optimization of mycophenolate mofetil dosing in transplantation

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Hari Kalluri, PharmD PhD

Characterization of renal secretion in renal transplant patients

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Solomon Adams, PharmD, PhD

Targeting the genetic and molecular role of ABCG2 following severe traumatic brain injury

Advisor:
Philip E. Empey, PharmD, PhD

2017

Kacey Anderson, PhD

The effect of therapeutic hypothermia on drug metabolism and transport: clinical and pre-clinical investigations

Advisor:
Samuel Poloyac, PharmD, PhD

Omar Almazroo, PhD

Preclinical and clinical evaluation of treprostinil in minimizing hepatic ischemia and reperfusion injury

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

2015

Tiantian Gong, PhD

Vaginal delivery of a hydrophobic antiretroviral drug CSIC for HIV prevention: novel formulation strategies for improved drug solubilization and lymphatic targeting

Advisor:
Lisa Rohan, PhD

Shoroq Altawalbeh, PharmD, PhD

Addition of leukotriene receptor antagonists versus long acting beta agonists to inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma treatment in older adults: A retrospective data analysis of effectiveness, safety and cost

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Ali Mohamed Alshabi, MS, PhD

Regulation of phase I, II and III pathways by pregnancy related hormones

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Lindsay Ferguson Kramzer, PharmD, PhD

Preformulation and biological evaluations for the intravaginal delivery of griffithsin for hiv prevention

Advisor:
Lisa Rohan, PhD

2014

Osama Alshogran, BS, MS, PhD

Characterization of the effect of chronic kidney disease on hepatic drug reduction: in-vitro and in-vivo studies of warfarin

Advisor:
Thomas Nolin, PharmD, PhD

Mohammad Shawaqfeh, PhD

Potential contributors to the decreases vitamin B6 levels after transplantation

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Robert Parise, BS, PhD

The preclinical and clinical pharmacology of benzaldehyde dimethane sulfonate (BEN) for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

2012

Jennifer Bonner, PharmD, PhD

Intestinal drug absorption, cytochrome p450-mediated metabolism, and transport after small bowel transplantation

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

2011

Jeremiah Momper, PharmD, PhD

Characterization of renal anionic drug transport capacity in kidney transplant recipients with persistent bk viremia: pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of cidofovir

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Jiangquan (Jocelyn) Zhou. PhD

Evaluation of the effects of therapeutic hypothermia and cardiac arrest on specific cytochrome P450 isoform activity

Advisor:
Samuel Poloyac, PharmD, PhD

Yuyan Jin, BS, MS, PhD

Quantifying variability in drug disposition, response and public health outcomes: the implementation of pharmacometric based modeling and simulation approaches

Advisor:
Robert R. Bies, PharmD, PhD

Nisanne Ghonem, PharmD, PhD

Treprostinil for protection of liver grafts against ischemia and reperfusion injury during orthotopic liver transplantation – a translational study

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

2010

Shringi Sharma, BS, MS, PhD

Pre-clinical and clinical pharmacology of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC): an agent for the prevention of preterm birth.

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

2008

Marci L. Chew, BS, PhD

Anticholinergic medications and cognition in older adults

Advisor:
Bruce Pollock, MD, PhD

2007

Kristin L. Bigos, BS, PhD

Pharmacodynamics of iv citalopram using functional MRI

Advisor:
Robert R. Bies, PharmD, PhD

Michael A. Tortorici, PharmD, PhD

The effects of therapeutic hypothermia on cytochrome p450-mediated metabolism: studies in translational research

Advisor:
Samuel Poloyac, PharmD, PhD

2006

Yan (Summer) Feng, BS, MS, PhD

Modeling and simulation approach to characterize the magnitude and consistency of drug exposure using sparse concentration sampling

Advisor:
Robert Bies, PharmD, PhD

2005

Aarati Ranade, BS, MS, PhD

The effect of endogenous and exogenous chemicals on drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters in human hepatocytes

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Rama Sivasubramanian, BS, MS, PhD

Effect of valerian root extracts (Valeriana Officinalis) on acetaminophen glucuronidation: in vitro and in vivo studies

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

William Zamboni, PharmD, PhD

Preclinical and clinical pharmacologic studies of 9-nitrocamptothecin and its 9-aminocamptothecin metabolite

Advisor:
Merril Egorin, MD

Bernard Komoroski, PharmD, PhD

The direct and indirect effects of herbal products on common drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Matthew Hruska, PharmD, PhD

Characterization of cytochrome p450 2C8 activity in vivo: pharmacogenetic and pharmacokinetic studies of rosiglitazone metabolism

Advisor:
Reginald F. Frye, PharmD, PhD

2003

Maggie Margaret Folan, BSN, PhD

Impact of DHEA on GABA-agonist challenge in healthy young and older adults

Advisor:
Patricia D. Kroboth, PhD

Tanya J. Fabian, PharmD, PhD

Stress associated with implanted defibrillators: evaluation of psychological, pharmacological, and neurohormonal response

Advisor:
Patricia D. Kroboth, PhD

Thomas Nolin, PharmD, PhD

Characterization of the effect of chronic kidney disease on cytochrome p450 activity in humans

Advisor:
Reginald F. Frye, PharmD, PhD

2002

Abdullah M. Al-Mohizea, BS, PhD

Drug metabolism and transport during rejection of transplanted liver

Advisor:
Raman Venkataramanan, PhD