Kathy M. Giacomini is a pharmaceutical scientist who studies membrane transporter genomics and the role of these proteins in drug targeting, disposition and response. As a leader in the field of pharmacogenomics, Giacomini helped discover about 50 coding and more than 100 promoter region variants in transporters that alter pharmacological effects in diverse populations. She is applying these findings to investigate the interactions between gene variants and specific drugs, particularly the antidiabetic drug metformin. At the University of California, San Francisco, Giacomini is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and cellular and molecular pharmacology.

Professor Giacomini will deliver the Valkhof Lecture, entitled: The Solute Carrier Superfamily: Implications to human disease and drug response.