Dr. Saklad was born in Los Angeles, California in 1953, and graduated from Pacific Palisades High School in 1970. He received his baccalaureate degree in Bacteriology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974 and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Southern California in 1978. He then completed a National Institute of Mental Health training fellowship in Psychiatric Pharmacy supervised by Jim Wilson, Pharm.D., BCPP at the Nebraska Psychiatric Institute of the University of Nebraska Medical Center at Omaha in 1979. In 1979 he joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy and the clinical staff at San Antonio State Hospital (SASH) as the first clinical pharmacist employed by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (now Texas Health and Human Services). He has lived in San Antonio, Texas since 1979. He is married and the father of triplet sons.
During his 44 year career, Dr. Saklad has provided clinical care, education, and research in a variety of settings and treatment roles at SASH. He team teaches didactic and laboratory courses for P3 and P4 pharmacy students, precepts and mentors pharmacy students in their advanced professional experience rotations at SASH. He received the UT Austin College of Pharmacy’s Teaching Award from the Class of 2014. He authored and successfully discussed with members of the Texas Legislature the creation of a clinical research unit at SASH that was funded by the Texas Legislature and jointly governed by the UT Austin College of Pharmacy, UT Health Science Center San Antonio Department of Psychiatry and SASH.
Dr. Saklad initiated and developed the first websites for the UT Austin College of Pharmacy in 1994, the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP; now the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists, AAPP) in 1997, and the CPNP Foundation in 2015. He helped to design, organize, and was a founding member of CPNP when it incorporated in 1998 as well as the CPNP Foundation in 2012. In 2003, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the CPNP for a two-year term. He has served as a member or officer of the CPNP Communications Committee, was the Founding Senior Editor of the Mental Health Clinician, CPNP’s Open Access journal, Treasurer of the CPNP Foundation, and a member of the CPNP Business Development Committee. He is the Director of The University of Texas Psychiatric Pharmacy Program. In 1988, he helped to create and has chaired The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy’s Psychiatric Pharmacotherapy Update since 2007.
Dr. Saklad publishes articles and presents to many groups around the country on a variety of pharmacy, pharmacotherapy, and mental health-related topics. He edited Psychopharmacology Update newsletter from 1998-2002 and edited two editions of a compendium based upon this newsletter, Psychopharmacology Desktop Reference, published by Manisses Communications Group in 1999 and 2002. He provides updates on his Twitter feed on a variety of topics @pharmacopsych.
Dr. Saklad is a principal or co-investigator for several studies of the efficacy and adverse effects of Phase II, III, and IV psychotropic agents in schizophrenia, mood disorders, depression, and other serious and persistent mental illness, as well as their pharmacokinetics and interactions. He was the Director of UT Health Science Center San Antonio’s Advanced Pharmacotherapy Research with research facilities located at Laurel Ridge Treatment Center and President of Alamo Superior Research, LLC. He has been affiliated with the Behavioral Wellness (“Be Well”) Center, Department of Psychiatry, UT Health San Antonio since 2009.
Curriculum Vitae
1997 – present Chancellor’s Council, The University of Texas
2013 Teaching Excellence Award, The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy Class of 2014
2012 Judith J. Saklad, Pharm.D. Memorial Award from the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists
1985 – 2010 Neill B. Walsdorf Endowed Fellowship in Psychiatric Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin
1997 – 2007 Dean’s Advisory Council of The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
2002 Presidential Honors Certificate from the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists
2001 San Antonio State Hospital (SASH Star) Employee Recognition Award
2000 San Antonio State Hospital (SASH Star) Employee Recognition Award
1999 Editorial Excellence Award for Psychopharmacology Update by Newsletter Publishers Foundation
1999 San Antonio State Hospital (SASH Star) Employee Recognition Award (× 2)
1997 – 1998 The University of Texas Presidential Scholarship Committee, The University of Texas at Austin
1986 Harrison Award for Outstanding Performance (Finalist), Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation