UCSF Pharmacy Residency Programs

Charisus is the daughter of two Singaporean parents who love to travel all over the world. Growing up as a Third Culture Kid, Charisus learned the importance of diversity and inclusion. She was born in Singapore but moved to Beijing at the age of 11 and completed her high school education as an international student in China. She then attended the University of California, San Diego (UCSF) where she completed her pre-pharmacy coursework before attending University of the Pacific (UoP) for pharmacy school.

Throughout her schooling in California, Charisus was an active part of several cultural committees including the Cultural Awareness Network (CAN) and Siblings Without Borders (SWB) at UCSD and the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF) at UoP.

After pharmacy school, Charisus worked as an inpatient pharmacist at an acute care hospital in Singapore for 5 years, where she learned to integrate into a multicultural society and connect with her patients. Outside of work, Charisus also volunteered as a Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC) and in this role had the opportunity to actively patrol with the Singapore Police Force (SPF). This opportunity gave her the chance to interact with people from all walks of life in a different capacity outside of being a pharmacist. It opened her eyes to the importance of empathy and compassion as a gateway to connection and taught her much about different cultures in Singapore.

For fun, Charisus enjoys spending time with her husband, eating good hotpot, and going for long runs in Golden Gate Park. 

Jiyong is a first-generation Korean immigrant who moved to the United States after completing her pharmacy degree in Korea. Driven by a passion to become a more active clinical pharmacist, she decided to restart her education in the U.S. from scratch. She started the UCSF School of Pharmacy as an international student, where her experiences as both a healthcare worker and immigrant fueled her commitment to promoting diversity in healthcare.

Her interactions with immigrant patients sparked a passion for embracing diversity in healthcare and advocating for the inclusion of international students in the field. At UCSF, she collaborated with the Office of Student Affairs to address the unique needs of international students, serving as a mentor and panelist for international student orientations.

As a resident, Jiyong continued her efforts, coordinating an information session to help international students navigate the residency application process. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys exploring new restaurants around the Bay Area with her husband. 

Josh is a first-generation immigrant and healthcare professional, born and raised in Malaysia. At the age of 13, he immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, and later moved to San Francisco in 2017. Growing up, he was inspired to pursue a career in pharmacy by his cousin, who became a pharmacist after she immigrated to the United States from Malaysia.

Josh completed his pre-pharmacy coursework as a transfer student, studying at Simon Fraser University, City College of San Francisco, and finally UC Berkeley, where he majored in Molecular and Cell Biology. He went on to earn his PharmD from the UCSF School of Pharmacy. During pharmacy school, Josh was committed to serving the underserved Asian elderly and immigrant communities. He volunteered at the Mabuhay Health Clinic, a student-run telehealth clinic that provides care to the Filipino American elderly in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, where he assisted with medication histories. Josh also interned at San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital in Chinatown, where he conducted medication reconciliations and discharge medication counseling in Mandarin and Cantonese. His personal experience of overcoming language barriers as a first-generation immigrant made this work especially meaningful, as he believes offering pharmacy services in patients’ preferred languages empowers them to make informed health-related decisions. 

Chidinma is a first generation Nigerian American and a third-generation healthcare worker. She is inspired by the legacy of her grandmother who worked as a nurse in Nigeria, and her mother who also was a nurse in Nigeria and in the United States before becoming a pharmacist. Passionate about health equity – Chidinma chose to pursue pharmacy as a means to close the gap between culturally competent care and underserved populations who have been systemically disenfranchised.

She was born and raised in Austin, Texas – and completed her pre-pharmacy requirements at Texas State University before obtaining her PharmD from Texas A&M’s School of Pharmacy. During her time at Texas A&M, Chidinma served in a variety of leadership positions and strived to develop herself and those around her to be able to serve those around them and increase diversity in leadership. She also served on the National Board of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) as the National Mental Health Chair. During her tenure she created programs such as Black Mental Health Month – which drew attention to mental health disparities unique to Black Americans, connected SNPhA members to resources for community outreach, and educated pharmacy students on potential careers in psychiatric pharmacy. 

Lauren is a queer woman who spent most of her childhood near San Diego, California. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara as an undergraduate studying physics, where she first began giving back to the queer and trans community, and came to UCSF to study pharmacy as a way of deepening her connection to her neighbors in the Bay Area through care work.

As a pharmacy student, Lauren was involved with the university's interdisciplinary transgender health elective, helping coordinate the course and mentor incoming students interested in gender affirming health under the guidance of the medical director of UCSF's Gender Affirming Health Program. Her experience with homelessness as an undergraduate inspired her to participate in the UCSF Pharmacy Homeless Clinic and to volunteer with local harm reduction organizations like the Homeless Youth Alliance.

Lauren hopes to continue working with the UCSF Gender Affirming Health Program as a resident through education to the student body and broader UCSF community, and to make gender affirming care for children and adolescents a part of her ongoing clinical practice. Her past research has focused on HIV and the accessibility of PrEP through state pharmacy law across the United States, and she continues her volunteer work with the local homeless community. She loves cooking for friends and loved ones, visiting local art galleries, and is never too busy for a dance party. 

Sarah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who instilled in her the values of community and education. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas, but spent almost every summer growing up in the Middle East. She attended the University of Houston for her pre-pharmacy coursework as well as pharmacy school where she continued to pursue her passions for social justice and diversity in healthcare.

As the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) Chapter Delegate, Sarah formulated and passed a resolution at the 2020 National Convention to bring Middle Eastern and North African health to the forefront of SNPhA’s mission. Sarah also established twice-a-year lectures provided by SNPhA members to middle and high school students at Houston Quran Academy on smoking cessation, diabetes, and mental health. She also spearheaded a study assessing COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates in the Middle Eastern community of Houston, Texas.

Outside of pharmacy, Sarah enjoys organizing for justice in Palestine, playing the Derbakkeh drum with the Aswat Middle East Ensemble in the Bay Area, and exploring the Bay’s restaurants and outdoors with their partner.