Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Human Resources
Mandi Garhartt (formerly Walker)
mjwalker@health.ucsd.edu
858-246-0080
Reimbursements
Danise Adrianzen Talavera
datalavera@health.ucsd.edu
858-822-7866
Dr. Willeford’s research focuses on strategies to improve medication implementation for cardiomyopathies including heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Current research includes evaluating clinical outcomes of a pharmacist-led virtual titration clinic in patients with heart failure. Other work involves creating best-practice models for utilization of cardiac myosin inhibitors for the treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Education: Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences, UC San Diego (2017); Doctor of Pharmacy, UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (2019); PGY1 Acute Care Pharmacy Residency, UC San Diego Health (2020); PGY2 Cardiology Pharmacy Residency, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (2021); Board Certification in Cardiology Pharmacy (2021)
Awards and Honors: University of California San Diego Department of Pharmacology Roland K. Robins Outstanding Thesis Award (2018); Society of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacists Renee Holder Literature Award (2020)
- Co-Chair, Therapeutics (SPPS 212B)
- Chair, Pharmacotherapy and Diseases (DDPM 201)
- Co-Chair, Dosage Forms, Non-Sterile Compounding Lab (SPPS 225)
- Collaborated in establishing a pharmacist-led virtual guideline-directed medical therapy titration clinic
- Designed a model for prescribing and management of mavacamten in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Developed a heart failure clinic rotation for pharmacy residents and students
- Elucidated pathways by which calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II delta mediates cardiac inflammation through the NLRP3 inflammasome
- Willeford A, Suetomi T, Nickle A, Hoffman HM, Miyamoto S, Brown JH. (2018). Angiotensin II-induced cardiac inflammation and fibrosis is mediated by cardiomyocyte CaMKIIδ and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. JCI Insight. 3(12):e97054.
- Suetomi T, Willeford A, Brand CS, Cho Y, Ross RS, Miyamoto S, Brown JH. (2018) Inflammation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation initiated in response to pressure overload by CaMKIIδ signaling in cardiomyocytes are essential for adverse cardiac remodeling. Circulation. 138(22):2530.
- Edmonds K, Saunders IM, Willeford A, Ajayi TA, Atayee RS. (2020). Emerging challenges to the safe and effective use of methadone for cancer-related pain in pediatric and adult patient populations. Drugs. 80(2):115.
- Willeford A, Zhu W, Stevens C, Thomas IC. (2021). Direct oral anticoagulants versus warfarin in the treatment of left ventricular thrombus. Ann Pharmacother. 55(7):839.
- Willeford A, Leiman V, Noel Z. (2021) Impact of a pharmacist-to-dose direct oral anticoagulant protocol on medication errors at an academic medical center. J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 1-9.
- Guideline-directed medical therapy implementation strategies
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy therapy management