Katherine Yang

Katherine Yang, PharmD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Pharmacy. She also serves as an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist at UCSF Medical Center, where she specializes in treating multi-drug resistant infections, particularly those caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Dr. Yang is co-director of the Foundations course, the first-year curriculum of the Pharm.D. program, and plays a key role in shaping infectious diseases education.

Dr. Yang earned her Pharm.D. from UCSF in 1998, followed by residencies in Pharmacy Practice and Infectious Diseases at the same institution. She completed an MPH in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001. Her research focuses on pharmacodynamic optimization of antibiotics for biofilm-mediated infections, especially in cystic fibrosis patients. She has led NIH-funded research (R01AI097380) on pharmacodynamic modeling of antibiotics against P. aeruginosa biofilms from 2012 to 2018.

Her research interests include biofilm dynamics, antibiotic resistance, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, antimicrobial stewardship, and cystic fibrosis. Her recent publications reflect a strong trend in modeling antibiotic efficacy in biofilms, optimizing dosing strategies, and improving infection outcomes in critical care settings. She has also contributed to public health through studies on antibiotic prescribing patterns and infection control.

Dr. Yang has been recognized with several honors, including the Long Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2005) and being named a Fellow of the California Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (2006). She is available to mentor faculty in career development, research, and research projects.

She has been actively involved in clinical and translational research, with a publication record spanning over two decades. Her work often involves collaborations with experts in microbiology, critical care, and pharmacokinetics. She leads a research program focused on bridging laboratory findings with clinical applications to improve patient outcomes in complex infections.