First of many

First of many

Julie Johnson is the first woman and College of Pharmacy faculty member to become IOM member at UF

By Linda Homewood

Dean Julie_A_Johnson_head1

In October, College of Pharmacy Dean Julie A. Johnson joined a select group of UF faculty when she was named a member of the Institute of Medicine.

To date, IOM membership has been held by only eight faculty at UF, all men, starting with the university’s seventh president, Robert Marston, M.D., who was elected in 1973. Johnson is not only the first female faculty member at UF named to the IOM, but also the first person from UF’s College of Pharmacy.

“Dr. Johnson’s election to the IOM by its membership reflects her fundamental contributions to our understanding of how drugs affect people differently depending on their genetics, which has led to clinical application in the areas of antihypertensive drugs and drugs such as warfarin that are used to prevent clot formation. Because of her extensive knowledge and insights about pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, she will be of great service to the IOM and the nation,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health. Guzick was elected to the IOM in 2008.

Johnson has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health or the American Heart Association since 1990, with a research focus on pharmacogenomics. As director of the UF Health Personalized Medicine Program, she leads studies on interpatient variability in cardiovascular drug response and the influence of race/ethnicity on drug response and pharmacogenomics. She also leads the International Warfarin Pharmacogenetics Consortium, which has more than 40 researchers across the United States and in other countries working in collaboration to advance improved drug therapies for patients who are prescribed the common blood thinner.

Johnson, named dean a year ago in August, joined the
college in 1998, serving as chair of the department of pharmacotherapy and translational research from 2002-11. She also served as the V. Ravi Chandran professor of pharmaceutical sciences for nine years. She is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, an honorary fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, and a fellow of the American Heart Association Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council.

The National Academy of Sciences was established 150 years ago as an independent scientific advisory service to the nation under President Abraham Lincoln. By 1964, the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering joined the NAS, and in 1970 the IOM was established. Collectively the four nonprofit member organizations, known as the National Academies, continue to serve as independent advisers to our national government.I

n October, College of Pharmacy Dean Julie A. Johnson joined a select group of UF faculty when she was named a member of the Institute of Medicine.

To date, IOM membership has been held by only eight faculty at UF, all men, starting with the university’s seventh president, Robert Marston, M.D., who was elected in 1973. Johnson is not only the first female faculty member at UF named to the IOM, but also the first person from UF’s College of Pharmacy. 

“Dr. Johnson’s election to the IOM by its membership reflects her fundamental contributions to our understanding of how drugs affect people differently depending on their genetics, which has led to clinical application in the areas of antihypertensive drugs and drugs such as warfarin that are used to prevent clot formation. Because of her extensive knowledge and insights about pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, she will be of great service to the IOM and the nation,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health. Guzick was elected to the IOM in 2008.

Johnson has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health or the American Heart Association since 1990, with a research focus on pharmacogenomics. As director of the UF Health Personalized Medicine Program, she leads studies on interpatient variability in cardiovascular drug response and the influence of race/ethnicity on drug response and pharmacogenomics. She also leads the International Warfarin Pharmacogenetics Consortium, which has more than 40 researchers across the United States and in other countries working in collaboration to advance improved drug therapies for patients who are prescribed the common blood thinner.

Johnson, named dean a year ago in August, joined the
college in 1998, serving as chair of the department of pharmacotherapy and translational research from 2002-11. She also served as the V. Ravi Chandran professor of pharmaceutical sciences for nine years. She is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, an honorary fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, and a fellow of the American Heart Association Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council.

The National Academy of Sciences was established 150 years ago as an independent scientific advisory service to the nation under President Abraham Lincoln. By 1964, the National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering joined the NAS, and in 1970 the IOM was established. Collectively the four nonprofit member organizations, known as the National Academies, continue to serve as independent advisers to our national government.