Kidney Diseases

Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Chair, Division of Clinical Pharmacy
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. Awdishu’s research program involves pharmacokinetics of drugs and dosing in kidney disease. Currently, Dr. Awdishu is co-directing The International Drug Induced Renal Injury Consortium (DIRECT) in collaboration with The International Serious Adverse Event Consortium (iSAEC).
DIRECT will investigate the genetic basis of serious drug induced renal injury, through a collaborative network comprised of leading clinical research centers from around the world.
Education:B.S. in Pharmacy (1999) University of Toronto; Pharm.D. (2008) University of Colorado; Masters of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research (2007) University of California, San Diego. San Diego. Healthcare Leadership Academy (2017) University of California, San Diego
Awards and Honors: Teacher of the Year, UCSD School of Pharmacy (2016); Award for Excellence in Medication Use Safety, American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists Foundation (2014); Barbara and Paul Saltman Distinguished Teaching Award, UC San Diego Academic Senate (2015); Teacher of the Year, UCSD School of Pharmacy (2012); Apples for Preceptors Award, UCSF School of Pharmacy (2008); Preceptor of the Year Award, UCSD Pharmacy Practice Residency Program (2007); San Diego Preceptor of the Year Award, UCSF School of Pharmacy (2006); Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacy National Schering Award for Pharmacokinetics (2003); Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacy, Ontario Branch Douglas J Stewart Award for Hospital Administrators (2002).
Leadership Experience: Director of Interprofessional Education and Simulation, Manager of UC San Diego Health Systems Chronic Kidney Disease Program.
- Pharmacy: Therapeutics (SPPS 212A), APPE (Ambulatory Care Chronic Kidney Disease and Solid Organ Transplant), Pharmacy residency rotations in ambulatory care, Objective Structured Clinical Experiences, Inter-professional Education Experiences
- Medicine: Interprofessional Education experiences and research mentor.
- Masters for Advanced Studies in Clinical Research: Faculty Mentor, Research Mentor
- Developed institutional Pharmacy and Therapeutics Protocols for Prescribing in Renal Disease as well as electronic algorithms for renal dosage adjustments.
- Implemented electronic GFR reporting at the clinical laboratories for UCSD Medical Center.
- Developed and leads a multidisciplinary Chronic Kidney Disease Program at UC San Diego Health System. http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/nephrology/Pages/chronic-kidney-disease.aspx
- Project leader for the development of patient education videos for the Chronic Kidney Disease Program: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaegTYfii7Gl9ytqZa8i_Q
- Developed clinical pharmacy transplant services at UCSD Medical Center.
- Clinical research in chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury in the ambulatory and hospitalized patient populations.
Atayee RS et al. (2016) Using Simulation to Improve First-Year Pharmacy Students' Ability to Identify Medication Errors Involving the Top 100 Prescription Medications. Am J Pharm Educ. 80(5):86.
West C et al. (2016). Implementation of interprofessional education (IPE) in 16 U.S. medical schools: Common practices, barriers and facilitators. J Interprof Educ Pract. 4:41-49.
Awdishu L et al. (2016)Rationale and Design of The Genetic Contribution to Drug Induced Renal Injury Study (DIRECT). Kidney International Reports. (4):288-299.
Ramachandrarao SP et al. (2016) Proteomic Analyses of Urine Exosomes Reveal New Biomarkers of Diabetes in Pregnancy. Madridge J Dia. (1):11-22.
Awdishu L et al. (2017) The 6 R's of drug induced nephrotoxicity. BMC Nephrol. 3;18(1):124.
Awdishu L. (2017) Drug-induced kidney disease in the ICU: mechanisms, susceptibility, diagnosis and management strategies. Curr Opin Crit Care. (6):484-490.
Kozuch JM et al. (2018) Low dose posaconazole delayed release tablets for fungal prophylaxis in lung transplant recipients Clin Transplant.32(8):e13300.
Bullen A et al. (2018) Effect of Acupuncture or Massage on Health-Related Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients. J Altern Complement Med.24(11):1069-1075.
Awdishu L et al. (2018) Use of Estimating Equations for Dosing Antimicrobials in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury Not Receiving Renal Replacement Therapy. J Clin Med. 7(8). pii: E211.
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- Pharmacogenomic studies of drug induced nephrotoxicity.
- Pharmacokinetic studies in kidney disease and transplantation.