Gordon McCarter, PhD

Biography

I am a founding faculty member of the College of Pharmacy and a physiologist by training. My current interests are the psychopharmacology of plant-based psychoactive substances, especially tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and cannabis. I have recently written about the physiological bases for placebo effects and the responsibility of clinicians for understanding and exploiting them.

Education

• BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of California at Santa Cruz
• PhD, Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Berkeley

Honors and Awards

• Phi Lambda Sigma, Honorary Faculty Member, 2012  
      Pharmacy Leadership Society, Gamma Omicron Chapter
• Professor of the Year, 2006 
      Class of 2009, Touro University California College of Pharmacy

Recent Publications

G.C. McCarter (2020) Harnessing placebo responses to improve patient outcomes. Am J Pharm Ed. 84(12):8184.

C.F. Young, J. Cheng, and G. McCarter (2019) Associations between Diabetes-Related Distress and Cardiovascular Complication Risks in Patients with Type-2 Diabetes and Lower Socioeconomic Status: A Pilot Study. Diabetes Spectrum. 32(3):257-63.

G.C. McCarter and L.B. Blanchard (2017) Similar adverse events from two disparate agents implicate lipid inflammatory mediators for a role in anxiety states. Oxf Med Case Reports. 2017(11):omx060.

C. Young, K. Lor, G. McCarter, and R. Ignoffo (2015) Survey of California Pharmacists’ Awareness of and Readiness for the New Authorities Granted by SB 493: A Pilot Study. Calif Pharmacist. 62(1):25-31.

L.B. Blanchard and G.C. McCarter (2015) Insomnia and exacerbation of anxiety associated with high-EPA fish oil supplements after successful treatment of depression. Oxf Med Case Reports. 2015(3):244-5.

Teaching Responsibilities

Biological Sciences I - IV