Kristen Ward, PharmD

Clinical Pharmacist in Ambulatory Psychiatry
Clinical Assistant Professor in Pharmacy
Rotation(s) Offered: Ambulatory Psychiatry and Pharmacogenomics

Biography

I work with providers and patients in ambulatory psychiatry. This primarily involves contacting patients between visits to assess tolerability and efficacy of medication changes, or for discussions related to pharmacogenomics, and I answer drug info questions for our clinical teams at the Rachel Upjohn Building. I also assist with pharmacogenetic testing related to psychotropic management, and I complete consults related to result interpretation and ordering.

Pharmacy School Attended: University of Michigan (2014)

Other Training:

  • I completed a 3-year research fellowship with Vicki Ellingrod that included mostly precision medicine research, but also involved maintaining a half-day per week clinic that resembles my current clinical responsibilities.

Areas of Interest

Broadly, my research interests involve using precision medicine techniques, such as metabolomics and pharmacogenomics, to improve the safety and efficacy of psychotropic medication.

Honors & Awards

  • March 2019: Helmsley Fellowship, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
  • July 2018 –June 2020, National Institute of Health Loan Repayment Program Awardee, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
  • May 2017, New Investigator Award, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Miami, FL

Published Articles or Reviews

  • Ward K, Citrome L. The treatment of acute agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: investigational drugs in early stages of their clinical development, and their clinical context and potential place in therapy. Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs 2020; 29: 245–257.
  • Castellani LN, Costa-Dookhan K, McIntyre W, Wright DC, Flowers SA, Hahn M, Ward, KM. Preclinical and Clinical Sex Differences in Antipsychotic-Induced Metabolic Disturbances: A Narrative Reviewof Adiposity and Glucose Metabolism. J Psychiatry Brain Sci. Epub ahead of print 2019. 
  • Ward KM. & Citrome, L. Brexpiprazole for the maintenance treatment of adults with schizophrenia: an evidence-based review and place in therapy. Neuropsychiatr. Dis. Treat.Volume 15,247–257 (2019).
  • Flowers SA, Baxter NT, Ward KM, et al. Effects of Atypical Antipsychotic Treatment and Resistant Starch Supplementation on Gut Microbiome Composition in a Cohort of Patients with Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia. Pharmacother J Hum Pharmacol Drug Ther. 2019 Feb;39(2):161-170.
  • Ward KM, Citrome L. Antipsychotic-Related Movement Disorders: Drug-Induced Parkinsonism vs. Tardive Dyskinesia—Key Differences in Pathophysiology and Clinical Management. Neurol Ther. 2018 Jul19.
  • Burghardt K, Ward K, Sanders E, et al. Atypical Antipsychotics and the Human Skeletal Muscle Lipidome. Metabolites 2018; 8: 64.
  • Ward KM, Yeomans L, McHugh C, Kraal AZ, Flowers SA, Rothberg AE, et al. Atypical Antipsychotic Exposure May Not Differentiate Metabolic Phenotypes of Patients with Schizophrenia. Pharmacotherapy. 2018 Jun 38(6):638-650.
  • Lindell VA, Stencel NL, Ives RC, Ward KM, Fluent T, Choe HM, et al. A Pilot Evaluating Clinical Pharmacy Services in an Ambulatory Psychiatry Setting. Psychopharmacol Bull. 2018 Feb 5;48(2):18–28. 
  • Albano ME, Bostwick JR, Ward KM, Fluent T, Choe HM. Discrepancies Identified Through a Telephone-Based, Student-Led Initiative for Medication Reconciliation in Ambulatory Psychiatry. J Pharm Pract. 2018 Jun 20;31(3):304–11
  • Soreide KK, Ward KM, Bostwick JR. Strategies and Solutions for Switching Antidepressant Medications. Psychiatric Times. 2017 Dec 15. http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/strategies-and-solutions-switch....
  • Ward K, Citrome L. Lisdexamfetamine: chemistry, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability in the treatment of binge eating disorder. Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol. 2018 Feb 4;14(2):229–38. 
  • Pasternak AL, Ward KM, Luzum JA, Ellingrod VL, Hertz DL. Germline Variants with Implications for Disease Risk and Therapeutic Outcomes. Physiol Genomics. 2017 Oct 1;49(10):567-581.
  • Hertz DL, Luzum JA, Pasternak AL, Ward KM, Zhu H-J, Rae JM, et al. Institutional profile of pharmacogenetics within University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. Pharmacogenomics. 2017 Aug 26;18(12): 2017-0107. 
  • Tang SS, BS, Jaward L, Ward KM, Parikh SV, Bostwick JR,Impact of a Student Pharmacist Driven Medication Reconciliation and Antidepressant Treatment History Project at a Depression Clinic: A Pilot Study. Psychopharmacol Bull. 2017 May 15;47(2):36-41.
  • Connarn JN, Flowers S, Kelly M, Luo R, Ward KM, Harrington G, et al. Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacogenomics of Bupropion in Three Different Formulations with Different Release Kinetics in Healthy Human Volunteers. AAPS J. 2017 Sep 6;19(5):1513–22. 
  • Kraal AZ, Ward KM, Ellingrod VE. Sex Differences in Antipsychotic Related Metabolic Functioning in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Psychopharmacology Bull.2017 May 15;47(2):8-21.
  • Ward KM, Kraal AZ, Flowers SA, Ellingrod VE. Cardiovascular Pharmacogenomics and Cognitive Function in Schizophrenia Patients Grouped by Educational Level. 2017. Pharmacotherapy. 2017 Sep;37(9):1122-1130
  • Flowers SA, Evans SJ, WardKM, McInnis MG, Ellingrod VL. Interaction between Atypical Antipsychotics and the Gut Microbiome in a Bipolar Disease Cohort. Pharmacotherapy. 2017 Mar;37(3):261-267.