Getting Started with Translational Science

Vicki L. Ellingrod, Pharm.D., FCCP, is the Senior Associate Dean in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan. She is also a professor of Psychiatry and Psychology within the Medical School and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Within the University of Michigan, she serves as associate director of the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), and principal investigator for the KL2 program, which provides training and mentoring in translational research for health professionals and junior faculty. Both of these initiatives are competitively support by the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Science (NCATS). She obtained her bachelors and PharmD from the University of Minnesota and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychopharmacology/pharmacogenetics at the University of Iowa, followed by joining the faculty there as an assistant professor. Her research has focused on identification of genetic markers related to drug response in mental illness and has been funded by NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) the FDA, and industry. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, Dr. Ellingrod was a practicing clinical pharmacist working on the medical psychiatry unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Ellingrod is a founding member of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists and a full member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). She also serves as scientific editor for Pharmacotherapy and is an editor on the DiPiro text book Pharmacotherapy, a pathophysiologic approach.