Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Pediatrics
Dean & Associate Dean for Pharmacy Education
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine-Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego
Pronouns: She|Her|Hers
Dr. Best specializes in pharmacokinetics – the processes by which a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized and eliminated by the body – and pediatric clinical pharmacology research. Her research efforts have focused on studying anti-HIV drugs in infants, children, adolescents, non-pregnant adults, and pregnant women. She also studies drugs used to treat Kawasaki disease, the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. She has specific interests and expertise in maternal-fetal and pediatric clinical pharmacology, therapeutic drug monitoring of antiretrovirals, antiretroviral pharmacogenomics, and penetration of antiretrovirals into the central nervous system.
Dr. Best's research program encompasses projects with key state-wide, national and international HIV/AIDS and pediatric pharmacology collaborative research networks, including the:
- International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials network (IMPAACT)
- Maternal and Pediatric Precision in Therapeutics (MPRINT)
- California Collaborative Treatment Group (CCTG)
- HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP)
Education: B.S. in Chemistry/Chemical Education (1994) UC San Diego; Pharm.D. (1999) UC San Francisco; Pharmacy Practice Residency (2000) UC San Diego Medical Center; NIH/NRSA Fellowship in Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Research (2004) UC San Diego; Masters of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research (2007) UC San Diego.
Awards and Honors: Valedictorian, National Center for Leadership in Academic Medicine; 7th Annual "40 Under 40" Honoree, San Diego Metropolitan Uptown Examiner & Daily Business Report; Professor of the Year Award, Associated Students (2010, 2013, 2020); Distinguished Teaching Award, University of California Academic Senate, San Diego Division.
Leadership Experience: Editorial Board Member, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes; Frontiers in Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology; Director, NIH Training Program in Pediatric and Maternal/Fetal Pharmacology. Panel Member: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Treatment of HIV-Infected Pregnant Women and Prevention of Perinatal Transmission Guidelines, World Health Organization Pediatric Antiretroviral Working Group (PAWG); Working Group Member: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women (PRGLAC).
- Described pharmacokinetics and correct doses of antiretrovirals to use in pregnant women (results have been incorporated into US DHHS Treatment Guidelines)
- Discovered the lack of penetration of commonly-used antiretrovirals into cerebrospinal fluid, highlighting the importance of effectively treating this sanctuary site.
- Determined the pharmacokinetics, appropriate dose and safety of infliximab in pediatric Kawasaki disease patients (the first new treatment in this disease in 30 years).
- Momper JD, et al. (2021) For the IMPAACT P1026s Protocol Team. Pharmacokinetics of darunavir and cobicistat in pregnant and postpartum women with HIV infection. AIDS. 1;35(8):1191-9.
- Brooks KM, et. Al (2021) For the IMPAACT P1026s Protocol Team. Pharmacokinetics of tenofovir alafenamide with and without cobicistat in pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV: results from IMPAACT P1026s. AIDS. 1;35(3):407-17.
- Liu XI, Momper JD, Rakhmanina NY, Green DJ, Burckart GJ, Cressey TR, Mirochnick M, Best BM, van den Anker JN, Dallmann A. (2021) Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling framework to predict neonatal pharmacokinetics of transplacentally acquired emtricitabine, dolutegravir and raltegravir. Clin Pharmacokinet. 60(6):795-809.
- Mulligan N, Salama E, Momper JD, Capparelli EV, Stek A, Wang J, Smith E, Chakhtoura N, Mirochnick M, Best BM for the IMPAACT P1026s Protocol Team (2021). Lopinavir and tenofovir interaction observed in non-pregnant adults altered during pregnancy. J Clin Pharm Ther. 46(5):1459-64.
- Over 20 years of experience in designing, conducting and analyzing Phase I-II pediatric and obstetric pharmacokinetic clinical trials.
- Expertise in intensive and sparse population pharmacokinetic modeling and simulation techniques.