Research Centers & Collaborations

Department research is under way in individual faculty labs, in affiliated research centers, and as part of programs across the U.S. and around the world. Examples:

Department Centers

• Center for Drug Development Sciences (CDDS)
  The CDDS seeks to advance the science, strategic planning, and management processes of drug development and to establish clinical drug development science as a rigorous academic discipline. The program is based in Washington, DC.
• Drug Studies Unit (DSU)
  The Drug Studies Unit, Analytical Division, specializes in the development of methods needed to detect and quantify drug substances in biological fluids.

Department Collaborations

• UCSF Pharmacogenomics of Membrane Transporters Project (UCSF PMT)
  The goal of the UCSF PMT Project is to understand the genetic basis for variation in drug response for drugs that interact with membrane transporters. The project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences. It is part of the Pharmacogenetics Research Network and Knowledgebase.
• Center for Theoretical Biology at Peking University
  This research collaboration between the University of California and Peking University integrates the biological data acquisition strengths of the former with the physical and theoretical strengths of the latter. The Center director is a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences.
• Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
  The CTSI at UCSF was one of the first 12 U.S. academic institutions selected to be part of the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Consortium. The consortium has a charter to transform clinical and translational research to ensure that the best health solutions get to patients as quickly as possible.
• California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3)
  This three-campus collaborative among the University of California campuses at Berkeley, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco harnesses the quantitative sciences to integrate our understanding of biological systems at all levels of complexity—from atoms and protein molecules to cells, tissues, organs, and the entire organism. This integration allows scientists to attack problems that have been simply unapproachable before, setting the stage for fundamental new discoveries, new products, and new technologies for the benefit of human health.

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