Departments

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

High Demand,
Real Impact

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The Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences is an international leader in pharmaceutical research—with particular strengths in the areas of molecular mechanisms of disease and drug design, development, targeting and delivery. The department has garnered millions of dollars in support from the National Institutes of Health and other government and private funders.

Clay Wang headshot
Faculty in the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences continuously produce breakthroughs in scientific knowledge and human health. We collaborate with other top researchers across a range of disciplines and institutions to magnify the impact of our work. We are also proud to train and mentor new leaders for the field who contribute to increased understanding of the cellular and other mechanisms that cause disease—and to the development of new therapeutics and cures.

Clay C. Wang, PhD

chair, department of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences

Programs

The department’s mission involves:

Meet the Faculty

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Jean C. Shih, PhD

Jean C. Shih, PhD

  • University Professor & Boyd & Elsie Welin Professor, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
One of the world’s leading researchers on MAO enzymes and emotion behavior and cancers associated with MAO enzymes
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Yong (Tiger) Zhang, PhD

Yong (Tiger) Zhang, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemistry
Expert in chemical biology, drug design and discovery, protein engineering and immunotherapy
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Martine Culty, PhD

Martine Culty, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Martine Culty focuses on neonatal gonocytes, precursors of male germline stem cells; environmental chemical effects on testis development.
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Julio A. Camarero, PhD

Julio A. Camarero, PhD

  • John A. Biles Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Expert in biological therapeutics, microbial pathogenicity, and protein and peptide therapeutics
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Enrique Cadenas, MD, PhD

Enrique Cadenas, MD, PhD

  • Charles Krown/Alumni Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Enrique Cadenas researches the molecular mechanisms inherent in brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Department News

Yong (Tiger) Zhang, PhD, stands in his lab

Zhang Awarded $2.1 Million NIH Grant

Yong (Tiger) Zhang, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, was awarded a five-year, $2.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to reprogram exosomes for biomedical applications. 
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Hovik Gukasyan Headshot

Gukasyan Joins Faculty

Hovhannes (Hovik) Gukasyan, PhD has joined USC Mann as associate professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences (teaching track). In this position, he will play an integral role in developing and growing the school's new undergraduate major in biopharmaceutical sciences.
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Zhang Awarded $1.9 Million NIH Grant

Yong (Tiger) Zhang, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at the USC School of Pharmacy, was awarded a five-year, $1.9 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.
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