Fran Aweeka

Fran Aweeka is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Pharmacy. She directs the Drug Research Unit (DRU) and serves as the Pharmacology Core Lead for the UCSF Center for AIDS Research. Her research focuses on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis drugs, particularly in vulnerable populations in Africa and the U.S. She actively contributes to the PharmD degree program as a co-director of the Inquiry component and mentors students in pharmacology and international research.

As a clinical pharmacologist with over 25 years of experience, Dr. Aweeka investigates drug interactions in co-infected patients, pharmacokinetics in pregnancy and pediatric populations, and mechanisms of HIV-associated inflammation. Her work includes PI roles on NIH R01 grants and leadership in global health initiatives like seasonal malaria chemoprevention studies in Uganda. The DRU under her direction provides advanced analytical techniques for drug quantification in plasma and target tissues, supporting over 30 NIH studies.

Her recent research trends include pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of antimalarial and antiretroviral combinations, microvolume plasma assays, and drug exposure-response relationships in resource-limited settings. Publications from 2021–2025 reflect these areas, with emphasis on pregnancy pharmacokinetics, pediatric dosing, and global health pharmacology.

Dr. Aweeka holds a PharmD from UCSF (1985) and a BS in Biological Sciences from USC (1981). She is a licensed pharmacist in California and has completed leadership programs like the Mentor Development Program. Her lab supports collaborative projects across national and international institutions, focusing on drug quantification in plasma, dried blood spots, and target cells.