The 2026 Gala will take place on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena, Los Angeles.
2026 Alumni Award Recipients
Danielle Colayco,
PharmD '10, MS '10
& Kevin Komoto,
PharmD, MBA
Community Service Award
For decades, the Komoto family has sought innovative ways to provide affordable healthcare access through pharmacy practice. Now overseen by the second generation, including couple Kevin Komoto and Danielle Colayco, the Komoto Family Foundation promotes health equity and access to healthcare services in partnership with under-resourced communities through assistance programs, education and research, while Komoto Healthcare offers community pharmacy, home infusion, specialty and clinical services, with a focus on underserved populations.
Duane Saikami, PharmD '85, MBA
Distinguished Alumni Award
An entrepreneur and healthcare business executive, Saikami was partner and co-
founder of PharMedQuest Pharmacy Services, which owned and operated 26
community clinic pharmacies throughout California. PharMedQuest is now part
of Avita Pharmacy, one of the nation’s largest HIV and 340B pharmacy program
administrators. His previous roles include CEO and founder of Pharmedex, a
business-to-business e-commerce company designed to improve pharmaceutical
distribution in Japan.
Penny Cai
Honorary Alumni Award
Cai is founder and president of the CAI Foundation, which advances scientific
research and supports educational causes, including USC Mann’s So-Cal Advancing Curiosity in Experimentation (SC-ACE), a highly selective research program that prepares high school students for future leadership in science, health, and education through hands-on laboratory training and academic mentorship.
Neal Storm, DRSc '13, MS, MBA, RAC
Innovation in Regulatory Science Award
Storm has overseen strategic development and registration of several biologics and small-molecule therapeutics at Amgen. He is passionate about applying novel and innovative strategies to complex regulatory challenges using multiple disciplines and team-based problem-solving, and aims to increase access to innovative therapeutics for patients everywhere. He is also a volunteer adjunct assistant professor of regulatory and quality science at USC Mann.
Vaishali Patel, PharmD '02, MS '04
Innovation in Pharmacoeconomics Award
In addition to leading the health economics and outcomes research team at AbbVie, Patel is a subject matter expert in economic modeling, real-world evidence and patient-experience data research to demonstrate product value. She has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles and presented at numerous scientific congresses. She is also a passionate mentor and a leader in the optimal application of AI in research.
Vincent Lee, PhD
Research Achievement Award
A leader in ocular drug delivery and peptide and protein drug delivery, Lee has received several national and international honors including the inaugural PhRMA Foundation Award for Excellence in Pharmaceutics and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists’ Research Award in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery. In addition to being a longtime USC Mann faculty member, he spent a decade as a research professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong School of Pharmacy.
Heno Yousefi, PharmD '18, BCPS, APh
Young Alumni Award
Yousefi heads pharmacist-led clinical programs across eight multispecialty clinics
throughout Southern California, providing comprehensive management for patients with chronic conditions. He has pioneered models of autonomous pharmacist practice that expand clinical impact and strengthen interprofessional collaboration. An adjunct professor in the Health Policy and Management at Mount Saint Mary’s University, he is also a USC Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences preceptor who was named Best Preceptor in 2024 and Best All-Around Site in 2025.
Highlights from the 2025 Alumni Awards Gala
Past Honorees
Community Service Award
2025: David Seto, PharmD ’15
2024: Raffi Svadjian, PharmD ’03, MBA
2023: Vaccination Volunteers
2022: Reda Alhoussayni, PharmD ’00, MBA
2019: Ken Thai, PharmD ’02
2018: Lisa Gunther Lum, PharmD ’86
2017: Roslyn Blake, PharmD ’92
Dean's Medallion Award
2025: David Makhani, PharmD ’87
2024: Robert Popovian, PharmD ’93, MS ’96
2023: Richard Dang, PharmD ’13
2022: Edward Martin Lieskovan, PharmD ’85, MBA ’90
2019: Leonard D. Schaeffer
2018: Dong Koo (D.K.) Kim
2017: Rita Shane, PharmD ’78
Distinguished Alumni Award
2025: Vinson Lee, PharmD ’06
2024: Steven Dohi, PharmD ’84
2023: David Truong, PharmD ’07, MS ’07
2022: Linh Lee, PharmD ’01
2019: Sohail Masood, PharmD ’88
2018: Irv Sitkoff, PharmD ’54
2017: Charles Leiter, PharmD ’83
Honorary Alumni Award
2025: Alex Kang, PharmD, MBA
2024: Ramesh Upadhyayula, BPharm, RPh, APh
2023: Jimmie L. Overton, PharmD
2022: Hattie Rees Hanley, MPP
2019: Tony Kuo, MD, MSHS
2018: Shushma Patel, MBA, RPh
2017: Michael Hochman, MD, MPH
Pharmaceutical Health Economics Award
2024: Annie Ogostalick, PharmD ’97, MS ’00
2023: Jeffrey S. McCombs, PhD
2022: Robert Popovian, PharmD ’93, MS ’97
2019: Parvez Mulani, MA Economics ’00, PhD ’03
2018: Craig Cheetham, PharmD ’78, MS ’97
2017: Yong Yuan, MA Economics ’96, PhD ’98
Regulatory Science Award
2024: Mary Ellen Cosenza, PhD, MS ’08
2023: Duane Mauzey, DRSc ’12
2022: Weicheng Wu, MS ’03, PhD ’04
2019: Martin (Marty) Solberg, MS ’08, DRSc ’11
2018: Susan McCune, MD
2017: Peter Lassoff, PharmD ’86
Research Achievement Award
2025: Jie Shen
2024: Eric Forssen, PharmD ’77, PhD ’81
2023: Charles W. Stark, PharmD ’82
2022: Hovik Gukasyan, PhD ’04
2019: Li-Jiuan (Rita) Shen
2018: Jason (Jiansheng) Wan, PhD ’91
2017: Eric Q. Wu, MA ’00, MSc ’02, PhD ’03
Young Alumni Award
2025: Jessica Abraham, PharmD ’11
2024: Michael Pazirandeh, PharmD ’11
2023: Lilia Xu, PharmD ’12
2022: Grace Cheng, PharmD ’13
2019: Debrina Johnson, PharmD ’13
2018: Gustavus A. Aranda Jr., PharmD ’04, MS ’06
2017: Danielle C. Colayco, PharmD ’08, MS ’10
Lifetime Achievement Award
2025: Josephine & William Heeres, PharmD ’63
2017: Mel Baron, PharmD, MPA
Innovation in Pharmacoeconomics Award
2025: Ben Cohen, PhD ’20
Innovation in Regulatory Science Award
2025: Frances Richmond, PhD