PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program

Alameda Health System (AHS) – Highland Hospital is located in Oakland, CA with the county’s only Level I Trauma center. Highland Hospital serves as a training facility for four accredited medical training programs in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. At Highland, we are committed to maintaining and improving the health of all county residents, regardless of their ability to pay. AHS serves as the principal provider for the county’s uninsured population.

Watch the 2022 PGY1 Pharmacy Residency
Virtual Open House – December 16

OUR RESIDENCY PROGRAM

  • 2 PGY1 resident positions
  • Balanced ambulatory care and acute care experiences

PURPOSE

Our PGY1 pharmacy residency program builds on the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists who are responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions and eligible for board certification.

We believe graduates of the AHS PGY1 Pharmacy Program will be ideal candidates for a clinical pharmacist specialist position in either inpatient acute care or ambulatory care, success in a PGY2 residency, and as an adjunct faculty position.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES

We offer a wide variety of patient care activities with the goal of providing experiential learning in acute care medicine and ambulatory care pharmacy practice. Typical learning experiences are 4-6 weeks in length or are longitudinal. Additionally, three 4-5 week elective rotation experiences are chosen by the resident.

  • Adult Immunology Clinic – HIV
  • Ambulatory Care I* [Clinics: Anticoagulation, Chronic Care (Hypertension, Diabetes), Fall Prevention, Heart Failure, Specialty Diabetes]
  • Ambulatory Care II* [Clinics: Adult Immunology Clinic – HIV, Anticoagulation, Chronic Care (Hypertension, Diabetes), Eastmont Wellness Center, Fall Prevention, Heart Failure, Substance Use Disorder, Specialty Diabetes]
  • Continuity of Care in Ambulatory Care‡
  • Critical Care*
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Hematology/Oncology
  • Infectious Disease*
  • Information Technology
  • Pharmacy Orientation*
  • Internal Medicine I*
  • Internal Medicine II*
  • Medication Safety & Pharmacy Administration‡
  • Psychiatry, Inpatient
  • Substance Use Disorder Clinic

*Required rotational experiences (4-6 weeks)
‡Longitudinal required experiences

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCES

  • Completion of a self-directed research project at AHS
  • Continuing Education (CE) presentation at local CSHP chapter CE event
  • Teaching Certificate Program through UCSF to foster precepting, didactic teaching, and active learning skill
  • Protected project time each month
  • Staffing – every 3rd weekend in the central inpatient pharmacy
  • ACLS certification completion
  • Simulation lab curriculum in partnership with UCSF PGY1 residents to increase confidence and competence during various emergent situations.
  • Present to medical residents at Medicine Noon Conference


Lauren Roller, PharmD, BCCCP
Residency Program Director
Lauren Roller serves as the Residency Director at AHS. She is from Indiana and received her PharmD degree at Purdue University. Lauren completed her PGY1 training at Regional One Health in Memphis, Tennessee and went on to complete her PGY2 training in critical care at the University of Colorado Denver. Lauren serves as one of the Critical Care Pharmacists for the Surgery and Trauma intensive care teams along with Laura Baumgartner. She is also a faculty member at Touro University California. She is a member of CSHP, ACCP, and SCCM. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys traveling, exploring the Bay Area, wine tasting, watching musicals, and visiting National Parks.

Kristin Lee, PharmD, BCPS
Residency Coordinator
Kristin Lee serves as the Residency Program Coordinator at AHS. She received her PharmD from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and completed her PGY-1 general practice residency at Alameda Health System, Highland Hospital. Her current role involves clinically rotating through internal medicine and hematology/oncology. Additionally, she precepts hospital APPE students and serves as the lead for following up on medication occurrences. She is a member of the Golden Gate chapter of CSHP. In her free time, Kristin enjoys traveling around the world, trying out new restaurants and recipes, good reads, and being outdoors.

Diana Thamrin, PharmD, BCPS
System Director of Pharmacy
Diana Thamrin is the System Director of Pharmacy at AHS. She received her PharmD degree from University of the Pacific and completed her PGY1 training at Alameda Health System in 2005. Diana has implemented both ambulatory and acute care clinical programs at AHS and expanded learning opportunities for pharmacy residents and APPE students. Diana is responsible for the strategic alignment and integration of all pharmacy initiatives system-wide as it relates to sustainability, access, quality, and patient experience as well as further expanding the scope of practice for pharmacists at AHS. She is a preceptor for the concentrated Pharmacy Administration elective offered to students and residents and was recognized with a Distinguished Service award in 2017 by University of the Pacific for mentoring and teaching. Diana is actively involved in the Diablo Chapter of CSHP serving as a committee chair and Board member from 2015-present. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, urban hikes in San Francisco, and trying new fitness classes.


Priya Patel, PharmD
System Medication Safety Officer, Clinical Pharmacy Manager
Priya Patel serves as the System Medication Safety Officer/ Clinical Pharmacy Manager for Alameda Health System. She received her PharmD degree from the University of the Pacific and completed her PGY1 training at Mercy Healthcare in Sacramento. Her responsibilities include oversight on Medication Safety/regulatory requirements for all campuses and implementation of strategic medication safety plans as well as provide leadership in clinical pharmacy. She serves as the co-chair of the Medication Safety Committee, and actively participates on the Patient Safety Committee and Quality Council. She serves as a preceptor for pharmacy students and residents in their Medication Safety Elective Rotation. She enjoys salsa dancing, flying on small private planes, sailing, wine tasting and cooking.

Eric Mahone, PharmD, BCACP
Clinical Pharmacy Manager – Ambulatory Care      
Eric Mahone is a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist in Ambulatory Care. Currently he practices in the Adult Medicine Clinic and the Cardiology Clinic at Highland Hospital. Patients are referred for management of heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and anticoagulation. He also serves as the primary preceptor for a majority of ambulatory care rotations for students and residents at Highland. He received his PharmD from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA in 2008. He completed a PGY-1 Residency at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, VA and a PGY-2 in Primary Care/Ambulatory Care at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He is board certified in Ambulatory Care (BCACP). In addition to his areas of practice, he is interested in teaching and healthcare communication.

Tina J. Yoo, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacy Lead – Acute Care
Tina Yoo received her PharmD degree from Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy. She completed her PGY1 General Practice Residency at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, CA and her PGY2 Cardiology Pharmacy Residency at Western University of Health Sciences/VA Greater Los Angeles Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. Tina is currently is a Clinical Pharmacist practicing Internal Medicine, Critical Care, and Emergency Medicine at Highland Hospital. She is a member of the Code Blue, Emergency Preparedness and P&T Committees at Highland. In her spare me, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies and hanging out with friends.

Vivian Lin, PharmD
Inpatient Pharmacy Manager
Vivian Lin currently serves as the Inpatient pharmacy and business service manager at Highland Hospital. Vivian has 4 years of experience supervising both inpatient and outpatient pharmacy operations at AHS. She also served as pharmacy supervisor and pharmacist in charge at Pharmerica for 2 years prior to her current role. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Worcester, MA. Her professional interests include 340B Drug Pricing Program, financial aspects of pharmacy from a business perspective and management.


Jamie Encarnacion, PharmD
Inpatient Lead/Pharmacist In Charge

Jamie Encarnacion received her PharmD degree from the University of the Pacific and completed her PGY1 Residency at Alameda Health System – Highland Hospital in 2016. After her residency, she worked at Highland Hospital as an on-call Clinical Pharmacist across most Acute Care specialties including Internal Medicine, ICU, and ER and went on to become a Night Shift Pharmacist for the past two years. Recently, she stepped into new roles at Highland Hospital as both the Inpatient Pharmacist In Charge and the Inpatient Lead Pharmacist. In her free time, she loves traveling to different countries, watching movies and musicals, and dancing.


Seth Gomez, PharmD, BCCCP

Seth Gomez specializes is board certified in psychiatric pharmacy and provides clinical services for AHS’s inpatient psychiatric hospital, John George Psychiatric Pavilion, as well as the Fairmont Hospital Skilled Nursing Facility and consultative support to other AHS campuses and SUD clinics. Seth received his PharmD from University of the Pacific and completed a PGY1 in Acute Care and PGY2 in Psychiatry with University of Southern California. In addition to clinical interests spanning psychiatry, Seth has clinical and research interests in substance use and homeless health. Seth is an active member of AAPP (formerly CPNP) and enjoys precepting students and residents. Seth enjoys animals and outdoors, especially hiking with his dog, traveling, food and wine excursions, and spending time with family and friends.


Natalie Fan, PharmD, BCPS

Natalie Fan is the Hematology/Oncology Clinical Pharmacist.  Her main responsibilities include rounding on the inpatient oncology service, assist with medication management for the infusion center and specialty clinics, and quality improvement projects.  Additionally, she rotates through the ambulatory care and inpatient clinical service, and serves as the student coordinator for Alameda Health System. Natalie received her PharmD from the University of the Pacific and completed a PGY-1 General Practice Residency at Highland Hospital.  She is an active board member of CSHP-Diablo Chapter (DSHP), serving as a Delegate and CAPE-accreditation co-chair. On her free time, she enjoys watching movies, traveling, snowboarding, practicing martial arts, trying new foods, and spending time with her adorable dog, Kaylee.


Matt Labreche, MS, PharmD, BCPS AQ-ID
Matt Labreche received his PharmD degree from Northeastern University in Boston, MA before completing a 2 year combined MS/PGY-1 pharmacy residency program at The University of Texas at Austin. While conducting research on MRSA skin and soft tissue infections for his MS degree, he realized his desire to embark on a career in infectious diseases pharmacy. Matt then completed a PGY-2 Infectious Diseases residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Following his PGY-2 training, he accepted a position with Kaiser Permanente NW in Portland, OR to help improve their antimicrobial stewardship program. Matt joined Alameda Health System in 2016 as the Infectious Diseases Pharmacist at Highland Hospital and his responsibilities include management of the antimicrobial stewardship program and quality improvement projects. He is an active member of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). In his spare time he enjoys traveling, snowboarding, and outdoor activities.


Joseph Lam, PharmD

Joseph Lam is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Critical Care unit. Currently, he participates in daily rounding with the Medical ICU team. He is the critical care pharmacist, providing services of monitoring for drug-related side effects, dosage adjustment, therapeutic drug monitoring, parenteral nutrition monitoring and others. He is also a member of the IRB (Investigational Review Board), Critical Care committee, Sepsis Harm Reduction committee, and Food and Nutrition committee. He also serves as the preceptor for the medical critical care rotations at Highland. He received his Doctorate of Pharmacy from University of California, San Francisco in 1999. He is an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).  In his spare time, he enjoys exercise, swimming, photography, listening to music and watching movies.


Derex Louie, PharmD, BCPS

Derex Louie received his BS from UC Berkeley and his PharmD at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He completed his PGY-1 Residency at Highland Hospital. Derex practices clinical pharmacy in Acute Care/Internal medicine/Emergency Medicine. He serves as one of the primary preceptors for the Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine rotations. Derex has been a member for the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and continues to contribute to drug policy implementation practice at AHS. His professional interests include drug information, improving medication use practices, and nursing education.


Yolanda Ramos, PharmD, BCPS, AAHIVP

Yolanda is a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist in Ambulatory Care. Currently, she practices in the Adult Immunology Clinic (AIC), providing Primary Care and Specialty Pharmacy Services to patients living with HIV. Patients are referred for adherence counseling, smoking cessation and chronic disease management to improve patient outcomes. Previously, she was the Transitional Care Pharmacist working with high risk and homeless populations to reduce readmission rates at Highland Hospital. She received her PharmD Degree from the University of California, San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and completed her PGY1 Residency at Alameda Health System, Oakland, CA. She is an active member of CSHP- Diablo chapter and serves many roles on the board. Other areas of interest include providing end of life care to patients. In her spare me she enjoys exploring Oakland and trying new foods. 


Alvin Tong, PharmD

Alvin Tong received his PharmD from Touro University, California and completed his PGY1 Residency at Alameda Health System – Highland Hospital, Oakland. He is an Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacist Specialist with focus in the cardiology and gastrointestinal specialty clinics, additionally he is cross trained for the hematology/oncology service. Alvin is an active member of the Diablo Chapter of CSHP and precepts pharmacy students for their ambulatory care rotations. In his free time, he enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, dog-sitting other people’s dogs, and the internet.


Jennifer Toy, PharmD, BCACP

Jennifer Toy earned her PharmD from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).  She completed a PGY1 at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound in Seattle and went on to complete specialized PGY2 training in ambulatory/primary care at the University of Washington.  She worked for UCSF in the Central Valley establishing pharmacist services in rural ambulatory care clinics before coming to the Highland Adult Medicine Clinic in 2017.  At Highland, she is passionate about serving high-risk diabetic patients in the Chronic Care Clinic and enjoys precepting pharmacy learners for their ambulatory care rotations.  She is on a side quest to run every street on Alameda Island.


Jennifer Pham, PharmD

Jennifer Pham received her PharmD from University of the Pacific and completed her PGY1 Residency at Alameda Health System – Highland Hospital. She currently serves as one of the clinical pharmacists for Internal Medicine, Critical Care, and Emergency Medicine. In her free time, she loves working out, hanging out, and baking/cooking/eating.


Vivian Phan, PharmD, BCACP, AAHIVP

Vivian Phan serves as the ambulatory care clinical pharmacist specialist in hematology/oncology. She received her PharmD from MCPHS University, Boston and completed an ambulatory care PGY1 residency with a focus in HIV/AIDS at UC Davis Health. In her position at Highland Hospital, she manages infusion center orders for oncology as well as various other specialty clinics. She works collaboratively with oncologists and nursing staff to provide patient education and supportive therapy management. In her free time, Vivian enjoys traveling abroad, baking, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends.


Sarah Vuilleumier, PharmD, BCPP

Sarah Vuilleumier specializes in psychiatric pharmacy and provides clinical services for AHS’s inpatient psychiatric hospital, John George Psychiatric Pavilion, as well as the Fairmont Hospital Skilled Nursing Facility. She is involved in several committees and works to improve medication use practices at both locations. Sarah received her PharmD from the University of California, San Francisco. She completed a health policy residency with California Health and Human Services and a PGY2 in psychiatry with UCSF/San Francisco County. Outside of work she enjoys mountain and road biking, adventuring and cheese tasting.

Pharmacy Residents


Nikki Nobahar
Nikki is a current PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at AHS. She received her BA in Molecular Cell Biology from UC Berkeley and Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of California, San Francisco. Nikki decided to pursue a residency at Highland Hospital for the opportunity to work with a diverse patient population and provide care to an often marginalized and underserved community. She was drawn to the enriching and interdisciplinary learning environment unique to Highland as a teaching hospital. Her professional interests include ambulatory care, internal medicine, substance use, and HIV care. In her free time, Nikki enjoys playing the piano, weightlifting, and traveling.

Cecilia Nguyen
Cecilia is a current PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at AHS. She completed a B.S. in Human Biology from UC Santa Cruz before earning her PharmD from University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy. As a resident at Highland Hospital, she strives to provide optimal patient care for the diverse, underserved communities of Oakland while fostering professional and personal growth through the program’s robust learning experiences. Cecilia’s professional interests include critical care, hematology/oncology, and HIV. Outside of work, some of her free time has been spent camping at the Great Sand Dunes, backpacking through Vietnam, and running the 2021 Golden Gate Half Marathon.

ASHP Residency Directory Listing

APPLICATION PROCESS

PharmD degree, eligible for licensure in California, official academic transcript, letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and 3 letters of recommendation. Applications are submitted through PhORCAS. Three references are to use the PhORCAS system for submission and preferably, each reference should comment on the followingability to organize and manage time, clinical problem-solving skills, independence and resourcefulness, willingness to accept constructive criticism, and professionalism.

PGY1 Residency Program Director
Lauren Roller, PharmD, BCCCP
lroller@alamedahealthsystem.org

Electronic PhORCAS Application
Deadline: January 2, 2023
Program Code: 203313