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: Elected as Nephrology Board Member, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2019-2022; Invited to serve on American Society of Nephrology Programming Committee, 2018-2020; Teacher of the Year, UC San Diego 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, UC San Diego 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: Advanced Professional Practice 213 series, 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
- Promoting equity, diversity and inclusion for faculty recruitment and retention at UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
- Developed new and ongoing credentialing process for clinical faculty.
- 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.
Ponce D, et al. (2019) Vancomycin Removal During High-Volume Peritoneal Dialysis in Acute Kidney Injury Patients: A Prospective Cohort Clinical Study. Kidney Int Rep. 2019 Jan;4(1):112-118. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2018.09.014. eCollection 2019 Jan. PubMed PMID: 30596174; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6308823.
Makunts T, et al. (2019) Analysis of postmarketing safety data for proton-pump inhibitors reveals increased propensity for renal injury, electrolyte abnormalities, and nephrolithiasis. Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 19;9(1):2282. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39335-7. PubMed PMID: 30783195; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6381091.
Ponce D et al. (2019) Vancomycin Removal During High-Volume Peritoneal Dialysis in Acute Kidney Injury Patients. Perit Dial Int. 2019 Mar-Apr;39(2):183-187. doi: 10.3747/pdi.2018.00092. PubMed PMID: 30858287.
Awdishu L, et al. (2019)Identification of Maltase Glucoamylase as a Biomarker of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Cirrhosis. Crit Care Res Pract. 2019;2019:5912804. doi: 10.1155/2019/5912804. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 31179128; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6501271.
Awdishu L, et al. (2019) A Primer on Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement for Interprofessional Chronic Kidney Disease Care: A Path to Joint Commission Certification. Pharmacy (Basel). 2019 Jul 3;7(3). doi: 10.3390/pharmacy7030083. PubMed PMID: 31277293; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6789732.
Brandl K et al. (2019) Assessing Students' Satisfaction with a Redesigned Pharmacology Course Series. Am J Pharm Educ. 2019 Sep;83(7):6971. doi: 10.5688/ajpe6971. PubMed PMID: 31619818; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6788159.
Awdishu L, et al. (2019) Advancing Pharmacist Collaborative Care within Academic Health Systems. Pharmacy (Basel). 2019 Oct 11;7(4). doi: 10.3390/pharmacy7040142. PubMed PMID: 31614555; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6958419.
Yin J, et al. (2020) Relationship between 2-Hour Tacrolimus Concentrations and Clinical Outcomes in Long Term Kidney Transplantation. Pharmacy (Basel). 2020 Apr 3;8(2). doi: 10.3390/pharmacy8020060. PubMed PMID: 32260162.
Lander L et al. (2020) Self-Perceptions of Readiness to Use Electronic Health Records Among Medical Students: Survey Study. JMIR Med Educ. 2020 Jun 12;6(1):e17585. doi: 10.2196/17585. PubMed PMID: 32442135.
- Pharmacogenomic studies of drug induced nephrotoxicity.
- Pharmacokinetic studies in kidney disease and transplantation.