Julie Ann Dopheide, professor of clinical pharmacy, psychiatry and the behavioral sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) Warren E. Weaver/Richard P. Penna Award. This national honor recognizes her extraordinary leadership in advancing board certification for pharmacists.
A board-certified psychiatric pharmacist since 1996, Dopheide is a longtime leader in the field. Her career milestones include:
- Member of the inaugural class of board-certified psychiatric pharmacists (1996)
- President of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacy (2013-14)
- Inaugural fellow of American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) (2025)
- Serving as USC’s psychiatric pharmacy residency program director for 25 years, mentoring dozens of future leaders.
“Professor Dopheide truly exemplifies the value of board certification both as a role model and leader,” says Tien M.H. Ng, chair of the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy. “She has enthusiastically promoted the value of board certification locally and nationally since its inception.”
Today, there are more than 1,640 board-certified psychiatric pharmacists practicing worldwide—specialists who, like Dopheide, manage complex medication for mental health and substance use disorders. In addition to her teaching, Dopheide continues to provide comprehensive medication management at Los Angeles General Medical Center and affiliated clinics, while supervising psychiatric pharmacy residents and student pharmacists.
Dopheide will be formally presented with the award at the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) 2026 Annual Meeting in Bellevue, Washington, this April.