About

Dr. Jan D. Hirsch is the Founding Dean of the University of California Irvine School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Professor of Clinical Pharmacy. She joined UC Irvine in January 2019 and previously served as Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Chair of the Division of Clinical Pharmacy at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Her academic background includes a B.S. in Pharmacy, an M.S., and a Ph.D. in Pharmacy Administration from the University of South Carolina, College of Pharmacy. Dr. Hirsch's research interests are focused in the areas of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research, specifically assessing the full value of pharmacy services and pharmaceuticals, and integrating patient-reported outcomes into pharmaceutical and medical practice to improve patient management. She has served as PI or Co-PI for numerous studies evaluating clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes for patients receiving novel pharmacy services across various health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, mental health, and HIV/AIDS. Her work has been recognized by state and federal agencies, professional pharmacy organizations, and the National Academies of Practice. Additionally, Dr. Hirsch has contributed to the development and validation of several health-related quality of life instruments and methods for measuring medication regimen complexity, which have been widely adopted in clinical research and practice.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Family medicine
• Internal medicine
• Psychology
• Nursing
• Clinical psychology
• Physical therapy
• Emergency medicine
• Surgery
• Psychiatry

Selected publications

• Faculty recruitment to academic health systems in difficult times: defining current challenges and best practices

  Academic Pathology · 2026-04-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Faculty recruitment to academic health systems (AHS) is difficult even in the best of times due to the inherently complex interfaces between health sciences schools, medical centers, affiliated institutions, faculty, and administration as well as the limited availability of top talent. However, with diminishing research and healthcare funding, coupled with proliferating regulations, recruitment has become even more challenging. These factors make it more important than ever to define best practices in AHS recruitment and may prompt the recruitment of internal candidates rather than external ones, the pursuit of philanthropic support for capacity building and start-up packages, the consolidation of academic units, and the combination of leadership positions. The specific needs will vary considerably depending on the type of position sought (e.g. "rank-and-file" faculty member, department chair, dean, academic medical center chief executive officer) as well as the specific responsibilities expected of them. Leadership roles may be particularly difficult to recruit for at this time and may appear too daunting for some potential candidates to consider. These challenges may lead to a reevaluation of roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and, perhaps, the redefinition of the positions themselves. The authors draw on their collective experience to define best practices in recruitment to AHS during these turbulent times.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Training the Next Generation of Pharmacist Educators (NextGenRxEd): Outcomes from a Longitudinal 4-Year Teaching and Research Program

  Pharmacy · 2025-04-22 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  To combine didactic education with clinical and research experiences that would empower student pharmacists to consider postgraduate training and a career in pharmacy education or academics, in 2009, the Next Generation of Pharmacist Educators (NextGenRxEd) program, a four-year longitudinal education program, was implemented at the University of California San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Directed by two pharmacist faculty, a clinician and researcher, student pharmacists were exposed to hands-on experience with clinical management, patient care, and research processes. A post-graduation survey was created and administered in Fall 2024 to evaluate outcomes for all student pharmacists who completed the program. Key performance indicators included the number of pharmacy students proceeding to postgraduate training, research practices, and pharmacist positions involving education and academics. During 2009-2024, 34 student pharmacists completed the NextGenRxEd program; 71% achieved postgraduate education (22 PGY1 residencies and two fellowships). Following quality improvement implementation, this percentage increased from 50% to 89%, for Classes 2009-2015 and 2016-2024, respectively. Overall, the PGY1 match rate was 92%, and 19 abstracts/posters and 10 manuscripts were published, respectively. The post-graduation survey response rate was 85%, with 93% of respondents reporting that they precepted PharmD students; 14% became faculty members, and 66% participated in research. The NextGenRxEd program provides a model whereby student pharmacists are equipped to obtain post-graduate education and pursue a career with a significant role in pharmacy education or academic pharmacy. This program has the potential to be implemented at other pharmacy schools/colleges to benefit faculty and student participants.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Seismological and geotechnical studies at the wind energy test site WINSENT, Germany

  2025-03-15

  preprintOpen access

  The Wind Science and Engineering Test Site in Complex Terrain (WINSENT) in SW Germany is a research facility to study wind energy harvesting in mountainous regions. WINSENT consists of two 0.75 MW wind turbines (WTs) along with a massive instrumentation for scientific measurements, including four 100 m high masts with numerous meteorological sensors at different heights. In addition, there are further open-field measurement systems such as remote sensing devices and a huge amount of instrumentation for nature conservation research, e.g. a bird radar and high-speed cameras for bird monitoring. For studying the soil-structure interaction, each WT foundation has six manholes for geotechnical and geophysical instrumentation such as pressure, displacement and seismic sensors inside the foundations. In addition, there are three shallow boreholes with broadband seismic sensors at 6 m depth and temporary seismic experiments are conducted to measure the propagation properties of seismic waves. These measurements are important for the safe and economic building of WTs and the understanding of the ground motion emissions from wind turbines. The results can later be used to design countermeasures at the source side and refine the determination of protection zones for seismic monitoring stations which can be disturbed from these emissions.We present the design of the geoscientific research at WINSENT and the first results from seismic refraction measurements for local compressional and shear wave velocity models. The 3-D motion of the WT foundation was recovered: it is composed of a major tilt motion of a few micrometers and a minor wobble-type contribution. We acknowledge financial support by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, project WINSENTvalid, no. 03EE2028B.

  PublisherDOI

• Unintended consequences of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists medications in children and adolescents: A call to action

  Journal of Clinical and Translational Science · 2023-01-01 · 37 citations

  editorialOpen access

  An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Longitudinal Effects on Metabolic Biomarkers in Veterans 12 Months Following Discharge from Pharmacist-Provided Diabetes Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study

  Pharmacy · 2022-06-13 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Clinical pharmacist interventions have resulted in optimized diabetes control in complex patients; however, there are no studies examining the durability of achieved outcomes after patients discontinued being seen by the pharmacist. A pharmacist-led comprehensive medication management (CMM) Diabetes Intensive Medication Management (DIMM) “tune up” clinic provided the opportunity to evaluate long-term glycemic control outcomes following clinical discharge. This study used a retrospective cohort study design with a matched primary care provider (PCP) comparison group. Outcomes were compared between the groups at several post-discharge intervals (6, 9, and 12 months) using independent t tests and chi-square tests, where appropriate. DIMM-managed patients achieved an average HbA1c reduction of 3% upon discharge, and maintained an average HbA1c concentration that was significantly lower than PCP-managed patients at 6 months (p < 0.001) and 9 months (p = 0.009) post-discharge. Although DIMM-managed patients had lower HbA1c than PCP-managed patients at 12 months post-discharge, the difference was not significant (p = 0.105). Similar findings were noted for average FPG and LDL across the study time points. No differences in average HDL levels were reported across the time points. A significantly larger proportion of DIMM-managed patients maintained HbA1c < 8% compared to PCP-managed patients at 6 months (67.5% versus 47.2%, p = 0.001) and 9 months (62.6% versus 40.6%, p = 0.040) post-discharge; DIMM-managed patients had a larger, but non-significant, proportion of goal retention compared to PCP-managed patients at 12 months (56.9% versus 47.2%, p = 0.126) post-discharge. Similarly, a significantly larger proportion of DIMM-managed patients sustained HbA1c < 9% compared to PCP-managed patients at 6 months (87.8% versus 66.7%, p < 0.001) and 9 months (82.1% versus 68.3%, p = 0.012) post-discharge; however, there was no significant difference at 12 months. The attenuation of the DIMM-managed metabolic biomarkers suggests that an additional follow-up visit or touchpoint may be helpful. The personalized care of the DIMM “tune up” approach was successful in achieving sustained glycemic control for up to 9 months. Outcomes can help inform future long-term result durability evaluations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Minding the gap and the value of metrics: Count of working pharmacists in the United States

  Journal of the American Pharmacists Association · 2022-12-13 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses a single Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code (29-1051) that reflects a traditional definition of pharmacist job functions. Pharmacists working in nontraditional roles would be categorized under other SOC codes and not included in the BLS pharmacist count. Knowing the magnitude of how many working pharmacists may not be included in the BLS pharmacist count would help determine whether the gap is a minor margin of error or a significant problem affecting pharmacist workforce projections. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this paper was to estimate the gap between the number of possibly working pharmacists and the BLS pharmacist count in 2019. A secondary objective was to examine BLS pharmacist counts in nontraditional roles and compare with published industry data. METHODS: The annual number of individuals receiving their first professional pharmacy degree from 1965 to 2019 (55 graduation cohorts) was adjusted using the expected survival rate to 2019 by age and gender and workforce participation rate in 2019 for pharmacists for each cohort and then summed across cohorts. Data sources included Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, U.S. Vital Statistics reports, and American Consumer Survey. One-way and scenario-based sensitivity analyses were conducted to vary professional occupation mortality advantage and pharmacist workforce participation rate assumptions. RESULTS: Based on the number of individuals receiving their first professional pharmacy degree between 1965 and 2019 (442,409), there were 356,998 possibly working pharmacists in 2019. This value indicates 45,798 more pharmacists (15%) may have been working in 2019 than the 311,200 employee pharmacists reported by BLS for 2019. A gap of 8000 to 46,000 more working pharmacists (3%-15%) versus BLS persisted after sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of possibly working pharmacists not included in BLS counts warrants further consideration of current pharmacist job projections, methods, and metrics to improve future projections and monitoring of the pharmacist labor force.

  PublisherDOI

• Supporting COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout before Charter Class Arrives: The University of California, Irvine Experience

  Pharmacy · 2021-10-09 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Despite numerous challenges in relation to being a recently established school, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS), similar to many schools of pharmacy in the United States, was highly committed to supporting the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. UCI SPPS and our affiliated UCI Medical Center (UCIMC) Pharmacy Department partnered to spearhead the pharmacy element of a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination clinic on campus for both employees and the community. Three key initiatives were established in order to overcome the obstacles we faced in the large-scale roll out of COVID-19 vaccines: (1) forging new collaborations within the pharmacy team, (2) leveraging interprofessional education and practice, and (3) raising awareness of the pharmacists' role. Our response to the COVID-19 vaccines at UCI was a tangible, visible model that demonstrated that, while we continue to embrace our role in team-based, patient-centered care, it is also important for us to step up and lead the profession. Additionally, this vaccine rollout experience is a teachable moment for our communities and our health professional partners as we continue to march forward as one voice to serve the American public.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Improved Patient-Reported Medication Adherence, Patient Satisfaction, and Glycemic Control in a Collaborative Care Pharmacist-Led Diabetes “Tune-Up” Clinic

  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2021 · 11 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Emergency medicine
  • Internal medicine

  = 0.009). A multimodal personalized treatment approach from a pharmacist provider significantly and positively impacted glycemic control regardless of self-reported medication adherence, and patient satisfaction remained high despite changing to a clinical pharmacist provider and increased care intensity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Transferring Key Success Factors from Ambulatory Care into the Community Pharmacy in the United States

  Pharmacy · 2021-06-23 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  In the United States, pharmacists' scope of practice continues to expand, with increasing opportunities for pharmacists in all practice settings to enhance health in society. In ambulatory care, pharmacists remain integral members on the healthcare team and have demonstrated positive impacts on patient care. Sharing similar characteristics as pharmacists in the community setting, a deeper look into common elements of a successful ambulatory care practice that can be applied in the community pharmacy setting is warranted. Key success factors identified from ambulatory care include (1) maximizing a pharmacist's unique knowledge base and skill set, (2) forming collaborations with physicians and other providers, (3) demonstrating outcomes and value, and (4) maintaining sustainability. Opportunities exist for pharmacists in the community setting to utilize these success factors when developing, implementing, and/or expanding direct patient care services that improve accessibility to quality care and population health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• National survey of physicians’ perspectives on pharmacogenetic testing in solid organ transplantation

  Clinical Transplantation · 2020-07-12 · 19 citations

  article

  INTRODUCTION: Our objective was to evaluate physicians' perspectives on the clinical utility of pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing in kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplantation (KLHL-Tx). METHODS: A 36-question web-based survey was developed and administered to medical and surgical directors of US KLHL-Tx centers. RESULTS: There were 82 respondents (10% response rate). The majority were men (78%), non-Hispanic whites (70%), medical directors (72%), and kidney transplant physicians (35%). Although 78% of respondents reported having some PGx education, most reported lack of confidence in their PGx knowledge and ability to apply a PGx test. Participants reported mixed views about the clinical utility of PGx testing-most agreed with the efficacy of PGx testing, but not the benefits relative to the risks or standard of care. While 55% reported that testing was available at their institution, only 38% ordered a PGx test in the past year, most commonly thiopurine-S-methyltransferase. Physician-reported barriers to PGx implementation included uncertainty about the clinical value of PGx testing and patient financial burden. CONCLUSION: Together, our findings suggest prospective PGx research and pilot implementation programs are needed to elucidate the clinical utility and value of PGx in KLHL-Tx. These initiatives should include educational efforts to inform the use of PGx testing.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant RC2HL101811

  NIH · $3.9M · 2013

Frequent coauthors

• Candis M. Morello

  52 shared

• Kelli R. Metz

  18 shared

• Anne M. Libby

  University of Colorado Denver

  18 shared

• Patrick Hosokawa

  University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

  13 shared

• Kelly C. Lee

  University of California, San Diego

  13 shared

• Charles E. Daniels

  University of Montana

  13 shared

• Patrick A. Miederhoff

  12 shared

• Renu Singh

  Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Science

  12 shared

Education

• B.S., Pharmacy

  University of South Carolina

• M.S., Pharmacy Administration

  University of South Carolina

• Ph.D., Pharmacy Administration

  University of South Carolina

Awards & honors

• Distinguished Fellow of Get the Medications Right Institute…
• Distinguished Scholar and Fellow of the National Academies o…
• Excellence in Teaching Award, UCSD (2004)
• Distinguished Alumni Award, University of South Carolina Col…
• Outstanding Young Women of America (1984)