The disciplines of physiology and pharmacology are two of the most basic to medicine, providing students with vital knowledge about how organ systems function under normal conditions, and then how to correct aberrations in function through the use of pharmacological approaches. The Department places great emphasis on modern cellular and molecular biology as it relates to normal physiology and homeostasis, as well as pathophysiology and the use of pharmacological tools to correct the abnormalities. The Department is strongly committed to the twin goals of excellence in both innovative, thoughtful teaching and modern research into basic processes central to health and well-being. The course covers the scientific basis necessary for rational and optimal drug therapy, providing students with the ability to make intelligent decisions on the therapeutic use of drugs. Lectures, laboratories, conferences, demonstrations and case presentations emphasize the scientific principles of drug action and students learn prototypes of therapeutic objectives.
Toxicology is an integral part of the course.
The scientific and ethical considerations of prescribing drugs are included as well. Research Activities Research in the Department focuses on signal transduction at the molecular, cellular, and whole animal levels. Faculty members employ a wide variety of experimental approaches including computational, electrophysiological, biochemical, molecular biological, and behavioral techniques to understand the linkage between a signal and the resulting response, which can occur at levels ranging from the molecular to whole-animal level.