The Training Program in Pharmacological Sciences is a National Institutes of Health funded pre-doctoral training program which is designed to provide multidisciplinary training in Pharmacological Sciences. Through required and elective courses, participation in research seminars and discussion groups and, most importantly, through individual research, trainees will acquire advanced technical skills and perfect their abilities to think critically, analytically and rigorously about central problems relevant to Pharmacology. After two years of graduate study, trainees must pass a qualifying examination which involves presentation of a novel, written grant proposal that is defended orally, before a faculty committee representing Pharmacology and other disciplines. Research training is supervised by a trainer and an advisory committee.
Trainees perform independent research projects for three to four years.
This program provides trainees with ample opportunities to cross disciplines and departmental lines, thereby incorporating and integrating current concepts and advances in biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, cell biology, medicinal chemistry, and structural biology within the central framework of Pharmacology. The coursework and research progress of students will be monitored by an advisory committee and the Steering Committee for the Training Grant. Students completing the graduate program are awarded the Ph.D. degree and are prepared for independent careers as research scientists and teachers in pharmacological sciences. The expertise of the faculty on this training grant encompasses a variety of disciplines, including biochemistry, physiology, molecular and developmental biology, cell biology, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, as well as pharmacology. The research projects focus on the molecular aspects of pharmacology, particularly in the area of drug design and development, and the interaction of drugs, hormones and growth factors with a multiplicity of signal transduction systems, in developing, differentiated and malignant cells.