Kelly E. Caudle, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, FCCP

Nearly 97% of people have at least one genetic difference that influences how their body responds to certain medications. As a result, many patients may require a modified dose or an alternative drug to ensure their treatment is both safe and effective. Preemptive pharmacogenomic testing in clinical practice provides an opportunity to tailor therapy to each patient’s unique genetic profile. My research focuses on developing and disseminating evidence-based guidelines for the clinical use of pharmacogenomics in both pediatric and adult populations. Grounded in implementation science, these efforts aim to accelerate the adoption of pharmacogenomic testing, standardize terminology across clinical care, and enable seamless integration of results into electronic health records, ultimately ensuring broader dissemination and impact through clinical practice guidelines.

I serve as a Principal Investigator and Director of the NIH-funded Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC), where I coordinate the development and updating of implementation guidelines. In my role within the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, I work closely with clinicians, scientists and informaticists to ensure that CPIC guidelines are implemented at St. Jude in clinically meaningful ways and to identify and address barriers to adoption. My collaborations with Cyrine Haidar, PharmD, and James Hoffman, PharmD, have been especially impactful, enabling us to refine best practices for pharmacogenomic testing implementation and incorporate these lessons into new and updated guidelines.