Dr. Philip Empey is the Associate Director for Pharmacogenomics of the Pitt/UPMC Institute for Precision Medicine and leads the PreCISE-Rx and Test2Learn teams to implement pharmacogenomics clinical, research, and educational initiatives. He also directs the University of Pittsburgh - Thermo Fisher Scientific Pharamcogenomics Center of Excellence which is deploying population scale preemptive pharmagenomics testing (to >150,000 patients) in western Pennsylvania. As a clinician-scientist in the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Dr. Empey conducts NIH-funded clinical and translational research aimed at understanding the mechanisms of the variability in drug response to improve medication-related outcomes in critically-ill patients.
He received his PharmD from the University of Rhode Island and completed PGY1 and PGY2 residencies in Pharmacy Practice and Critical Care at the University of Kentucky. He earned a PhD in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky before completing postdoctoral research training at the University of Pittsburgh.
Graduate Program Affiliation(s)
Clinical pharmaceutical scientist
Fellowship Program Affiliation(s)
Clinical Pharmacogenomics
Center Affiliation(s)
Pharmacogenomics Center of Excellence,Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences Center
Practice Area/Expertise
Pharmacogenomics, critical care
Honors / Awards
2021: Elected Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy
2018: Chancellor's Distinguished Teacher Award, University of Pittsburgh
2018: Rufus A. Lyman Award (2017 Best Paper in American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
2017: Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award, Rho Chi Society
2015: Innovations in Teaching Award, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
2015: Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award, Rho Chi Society
2013: Distinguished Paper Award (Co-Author), AMIA Summit on Translational Bioinformatics
2013: Young Investigator Award, Society of Critical Care Medicine
2004-2007: American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, Endowed Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in the Pharmaceutical Sciences
1998: American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Gateway Fellowship
2018: Chancellor's Distinguished Teacher Award, University of Pittsburgh
2018: Rufus A. Lyman Award (2017 Best Paper in American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
2017: Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award, Rho Chi Society
2015: Innovations in Teaching Award, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
2015: Outstanding Scholarly Contribution Award, Rho Chi Society
2013: Distinguished Paper Award (Co-Author), AMIA Summit on Translational Bioinformatics
2013: Young Investigator Award, Society of Critical Care Medicine
2004-2007: American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, Endowed Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in the Pharmaceutical Sciences
1998: American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Gateway Fellowship
Recent Publications
Visit PubMed link for a complete list.
Presentations
Population-scale PGx implementation, Precision Medicine World Conference 2021, Santa Clara, CA, June 2022.
Pharmacogenomics & genomics competency standards for pharmacists to advance PGx, Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium / Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network 2022 Conference, Denver, CO, May 2022.
Frequency of pharmacogenomics variants and actionable phenotypes in AoURP, All of Us Research Program Lightning Talk, National Institutes of Health, February 2022.
Population-scale preemptive PGx testing in Pittsburgh, Precision Medicine World Conference 2021, Pittsburgh, PA, September 2021.
Genomic data in health Systems: The importance of an enterprise-wide strategy. HIMSS: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, HIMSS 2022, Las Vegas, NV, August 2021.
An open, web-based platform to empower faculty to teach PGx with high fidelity using personal genomic data, American Association of College of Pharmacy, virtual, July 2021.
Building a PGx implementation program at a large academic health system. American Medical Association (AHA) - American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP) Pharmacogenomics Virtual Summit. February 2021
Pharmacogenomics return of results in the All of Us Research Program. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) meeting, November 2020
The All of Us Research Program: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) framework and approach to return of results, American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting. October, 2020.
Implementation of population-scale pharmacogenomics testing in a large, integrated health system. American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting. October, 2020.
Implementing Pharmacogenomics at Population-Scale. Precision Medicine World Congress in Santa Clara, CA, February 2020.
Advancing high-fidelity personalized PGx education through the Test2Learn platform, ASCPT Pharmacogenomics & Translational Informatics Webinar, ASCPT, December, 2019.
Forward-thinking strategies for pharmacogenomics implementation, Association of Molecular Pathologists, Washington, DC, November 2019.
Pharmacogenomics Precision Prescribing to Achieve Precision Medicine. Precision Medicine Leadership Summit (PMLS) in Philadelphia, PA. June 2019.
Returning Results Directly to Patients: Risks and Benefits. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) in Memphis, TN. June 2019.
Advancing Precision Medicine through PGx Pharmacists leading the way. Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association in Harrisburg, PA. March 2019.
Metabolomic Studies in the Critically Ill: The Good, the Bad, and Ugly. Society for Critical Care Medicine in San Diego, CA.
Learning Through Personal Genomes, International Society of Nursing Genetics in Orlando, FL, November 2018.
Pharmacokinetic modeling and neuropharmacometabolomics to ensure target engagement, National Neurotrauma Symposium in Toronto, CA, August 2018.
Improving Health Through Focused Screening of Populations. BIO2018 in Boston, MA. June 2018.
The Future of Precision Medicine. American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin, TX. February 2018.
Pharmacogenomics Implementation in Pittsburgh. American College of Clinical Pharmacy in Phoenix, AZ. October 2017.
Pharmacogenomics: The Prescription for Better Medication Outcomes. University of Pittsburgh Senior Vice Chancellor's Lecture Series 12 at 12 in Pittsburgh, PA. July 2017.
Pharmacogenomics & genomics competency standards for pharmacists to advance PGx, Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium / Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network 2022 Conference, Denver, CO, May 2022.
Frequency of pharmacogenomics variants and actionable phenotypes in AoURP, All of Us Research Program Lightning Talk, National Institutes of Health, February 2022.
Population-scale preemptive PGx testing in Pittsburgh, Precision Medicine World Conference 2021, Pittsburgh, PA, September 2021.
Genomic data in health Systems: The importance of an enterprise-wide strategy. HIMSS: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, HIMSS 2022, Las Vegas, NV, August 2021.
An open, web-based platform to empower faculty to teach PGx with high fidelity using personal genomic data, American Association of College of Pharmacy, virtual, July 2021.
Building a PGx implementation program at a large academic health system. American Medical Association (AHA) - American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP) Pharmacogenomics Virtual Summit. February 2021
Pharmacogenomics return of results in the All of Us Research Program. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) meeting, November 2020
The All of Us Research Program: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) framework and approach to return of results, American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting. October, 2020.
Implementation of population-scale pharmacogenomics testing in a large, integrated health system. American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting. October, 2020.
Implementing Pharmacogenomics at Population-Scale. Precision Medicine World Congress in Santa Clara, CA, February 2020.
Advancing high-fidelity personalized PGx education through the Test2Learn platform, ASCPT Pharmacogenomics & Translational Informatics Webinar, ASCPT, December, 2019.
Forward-thinking strategies for pharmacogenomics implementation, Association of Molecular Pathologists, Washington, DC, November 2019.
Pharmacogenomics Precision Prescribing to Achieve Precision Medicine. Precision Medicine Leadership Summit (PMLS) in Philadelphia, PA. June 2019.
Returning Results Directly to Patients: Risks and Benefits. Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) in Memphis, TN. June 2019.
Advancing Precision Medicine through PGx Pharmacists leading the way. Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association in Harrisburg, PA. March 2019.
Metabolomic Studies in the Critically Ill: The Good, the Bad, and Ugly. Society for Critical Care Medicine in San Diego, CA.
Learning Through Personal Genomes, International Society of Nursing Genetics in Orlando, FL, November 2018.
Pharmacokinetic modeling and neuropharmacometabolomics to ensure target engagement, National Neurotrauma Symposium in Toronto, CA, August 2018.
Improving Health Through Focused Screening of Populations. BIO2018 in Boston, MA. June 2018.
The Future of Precision Medicine. American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin, TX. February 2018.
Pharmacogenomics Implementation in Pittsburgh. American College of Clinical Pharmacy in Phoenix, AZ. October 2017.
Pharmacogenomics: The Prescription for Better Medication Outcomes. University of Pittsburgh Senior Vice Chancellor's Lecture Series 12 at 12 in Pittsburgh, PA. July 2017.
