The University of Washington School of Pharmacy is proud to announce that a team of SoP faculty researchers has been awarded a $200,000 Tier 3 pilot research grant from the UW Population Health Initiative.
The interdisciplinary team from the SoP includes Dr. Clayton English, Dr. Ryan Hansen, Dr. Jenny Bacci, and alumna Dr. Jenny Arnold. Their project was one of only four selected for funding in this competitive round, which awarded a total of nearly $900,000 to support impactful, cross-disciplinary research addressing urgent public health challenges. Additionally, SoP researchers will be working closely with Dr. Anthony Floyd (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) and Boris Zhang (Washington state Pharmacy Association) to advance this project.
The SoP team’s work aims to address one of the most pressing health crises in Washington State: the rise in opioid overdose deaths, increasingly driven by fentanyl. While access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment remains inconsistent across many communities, the team’s project explores the potential of community pharmacies to serve as more accessible points of care. With recent regulatory changes expanding who can prescribe medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to deliver life-saving treatment and support.
The team’s focus aligns with the Population Health Initiative’s mission to improve health outcomes for all people through interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Ali H. Mokdad, the university’s chief strategy officer for population health, praised the awardees for tackling wide-ranging challenges. “These innovative projects will take on a range of pressing challenges in the areas of youth mental health, opioid use disorder, decarbonization and fall-related injury prevention,” he said.
Learn more about the Population Health Initiative and this round of grant recipients:
Population Health Initiative 2025 Tier 3 Pilot Research Grants