Pharmacy associate professor advances precision medicine
Federally funded drug metabolism researcher Klarissa Jackson wants all patients to get the right dose of the right drug at the right time.
Since joining the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2019, associate professor Klarissa Jackson has advanced precision medicine with studies on how the body processes medication and how genetic variations influence drug metabolism and toxicity risk.
Jackson connects laboratory science with real patient outcomes by looking at biomarkers in leukemia patients to predict how their bodies will respond to the drugs. She studies how the body metabolizes drugs and how exposure to certain chemicals in the environment might contribute to more dangerous forms of breast cancer.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, recently renewed Jackson’s drug metabolism research for five more years.
“We’ve been intentional about including populations that have been understudied in biomedical research, making sure that they represent the U.S. population,” Jackson said. “This research is vital to advance the field of precision medicine and will lay the foundation needed to implement the right drug at the right dose for the right patient at the right time.”
Jackson built a program that combines NIH-funded research and collaborations with oncologists at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and epidemiologists in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She also made meaningful connections along the way.
“I’m so grateful to be at UNC,” she said. “To be able to work with clinicians and faculty members who have expertise in clinical care, pharmacotherapy and epidemiology – for them to say, ‘Yes, I’d like to work with you because I see the benefit of your skill set’ – I’m grateful for that.”
In 2025, Jackson received a promotion and tenure as associate professor in the pharmacy school’s pharmacotherapy and experimental therapeutics division. She plans to expand her research using novel in vitro models and computational approaches to model drug metabolism systems.
“Dr. Jackson’s collaborative research program has uncovered novel insights into the mechanisms responsible for interpatient differences in drug metabolism and is advancing the field of precision medicine in understudied populations,” said Craig Lee, division chair.
Jackson is also faculty director of doctoral admissions for the division.
“She is an exceptional educator who possesses an unwavering commitment to supporting and elevating the next generation of pharmaceutical scientists,” Lee said. “I feel truly privileged to work alongside her.”
She looks forward to working with more colleagues to develop more physiologically relevant models for studying drug metabolism and toxicity.
Jackson, a passionate researcher and mentor, values scholarly collaboration and developing others in their research pursuits. She plans to expand her research using rapidly evolving technology and training the next wave of pharmacy students and graduate students to ensure the advancement of precision medicine and proper prescription dosing.
