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INTERNATIONAL IMPACT

Research & Faculty

Our multifaceted and collaborative research enterprise maintains significant international impact. Our four departments—Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical and Health Economics, and Regulatory and Quality Sciences—provide a unique and dynamic environment for laboratory discovery, translational breakthroughs, policy solutions and regulatory innovation. 

OUR RESEARCHERS

Why USC?

Our research faculty is world renowned for its innovative and collaborative research.

Houda testimonial headshot

Why is USC a great setting for your research?

“Being in the school of pharmacy allows me the opportunity to interact with biochemists, pharmaceutical scientists, and bioengineers. We’re in very close proximity to the cancer center, so we always have access to patient samples. And this is a very important source to translate our findings into validating them into patient cohorts but also bringing ideas from patients and trying to study them in the lab. That interaction with the clinicians, the hematologists, the oncologists at the cancer center is absolutely important.” 

Houda Alachkar

PharmD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
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What is unique about the research programs at USC Mann?

“We’re not just one discipline. Our work goes from basic discovery to experimental therapeutics all the way to clinical trials to clinicians implementing what we study and what we find in the clinic. We cover the entire spectrum of pharmaceutical discovery and health implementation.”

Annie Wong-Beringer

PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA

Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
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Why is USC a great setting for your research?

“I love the interdisciplinary nature of this university, the fact that you can come to a place that has a school of pharmacy and a great medical school and hospital. Where I sit in the Schaeffer Center blending pharmacy, medicine, and policy in one place allows me to work on interdisciplinary studies. When I’m doing new research, I hit the ground running by finding out who else on this campus does work that can complement my thinking and come to solutions that are not just policy-relevant, but can be implemented at the bedside to improve care for the patient.”

William Padula

PhD

Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics
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What is unique about the School from a research perspective?

“USC has always been at the forefront of everything having to do with pharmacy and healthcare. We are innovative, we are generous in our time, we give to the community.”

Richard Dang

PharmD, APh, BCACP

Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
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How do you describe your research, in a nutshell?

“My overall picture is to understand how the body heals wounds. And that could include a trauma or your daily turnover, and that could be the wounds. So the spectrum of activity could be regeneration of your body. If we understand that, can we prevent you from aging, prevent you from getting diseases like Alzheimer’s, blindness? And so this is where we’re working on developing drugs to promote regeneration.”

Stan Gee Louie

PharmD

Professor of Clinical Pharmacy

How do you describe your research, in a nutshell?

“My work focuses on applying economic principles to the healthcare environment, particularly the market for pharmaceuticals and prescription drugs.  We’re trying to focus on how we bring value to the healthcare space, particularly pharmaceutical pricing. Drugs are very expensive, and we think they should be priced based on their value as opposed to demand or what a firm can charge.”

Geoffrey Joyce

PhD

Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical and Health Economics
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What inspires you to work on cystic fibrosis?

“It’s been exciting all along to be a part of finding therapies that can cure this disease. And there’s a huge community that’s led by the patients, who set up the foundation. Basic scientists, physicians, respiratory therapists, dietitians, everyone is engaged in a multidisciplinary approach. And working with those colleagues to figure out what’s the best way to treat these patients has been very rewarding.”

Paul Beringer

PharmD

Professor of Clinical Pharmacy

Improving Health Locally and Globally

Every aspect of our work is dedicated to innovation for a healthier world.

2023 Research Impact Report

News

A small number of pharmacy benefit managers dominated the Medicare Part D, Medicaid and commercial markets in 2023, and the three biggest PBMs may each be targeting different payer markets, according to new USC Schaeffer Center research published Sept. 10 in JAMA.