Dr. Kerry Empey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics and Center for Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences. She holds secondary appointments in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and in the Department of Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh. As a clinician-scientist, Dr. Empey conducts NIH-funded clinical and translational research aimed at understanding critical immune targets involved in inefficient neonatal host immune responses to pulmonary infections with the primary goal of improving disease outcomes through immune modulating therapies.  

She received her PharmD from the University of Rhode Island and completed PGY1 and PGY2 residencies in Pharmacy Practice and Infectious Diseases at the University of Kentucky. She earned a PhD in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky before accepting a faculty position at the University of Pittsburgh. 

Current research interests include understanding the role of age-based factors on host immune responses to pulmonary infections that are prominent in the infant and childhood populations. At the graduate level, Dr. Empey coordinates Clinical Pharmacy Environments, a unique, hands-on experience designed to introduce pharmacy-based clinical research to graduate-level students. Within the PharmD curriculum, she teaches pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunology, and co-coordinates the Seminar Series designed to teach Pharmacy students how to prepare and present professional talks.