Department of Medicinal Chemistry - Pharmacological Sciences Training Program

The Program

The primary objective of this predoctoral training grant program in Pharmacological Sciences is to develop scientists equipped with the necessary background in the basic biological and physical sciences, and training in the application of modern tools of research and instrumental techniques to undertake and direct fundamental research related to drug action, metabolism and kinetics. These aspects include mechanisms by which drugs produce their effects on organisms and also the effects of biomedical systems on drugs, including the areas of drug distribution, bioavailability, metabolic processes, elimination and study of kinetics of these processes. The training program supports selected Ph.D. students in the broadly defined areas of drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, cellular pharmacology and molecular pharmacology which presently exist in the departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology. Didactic components involve individualized, highly multidisciplinary programs of coursework and seminars that involve the biological, chemical, spectroscopic and mathematical sciences. Research components of the training program focus on pharmacological sciences, and one of these areas may involve collaborative research with other departments in the University.

Collaborative training and research efforts have been ongoing for several years. These include common coursework elements in the Ph.D. programs of the departments, including basic biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology and drug metabolism. For example, a one-year course sequence in general pharmacology taught by the Department of Pharmacology is available for all students. In addition, a graduate-level course in drug metabolism is taught jointly by the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology. It is available for all students in the training program.

The Ph.D. degree programs of the three departments have many operational similarities and some differences. Each department recruits graduate students and makes admission decisions individually. Admission decisions are made on the basis of academic record, letters of recommendation, research experience and GRE scores. TOEFL scores are required of international students. Beyond the common requirement for one year of general graduate pharmacology, each department has its own required courses, research rotations and seminars in the first year. Each department has responsibility for monitoring progress of each of its graduate students.

Entry into the Pharmacological Sciences Training Grant Program (NIGMS National Research Service Award in Pharmacological Sciences) is dependent upon performance in the first year of graduate work. It is our intention to take highly qualified students into the Program, while maintaining the appropriate breadth of the program among the three departments. Recommendations for filling the available slots come from the individual departments. Academic performance is the primary criterion for this recommendation and balance between research areas is considered a less significant factor. Routinely, we choose to evaluate the performance of the student in the first year of his/her graduate program, appointing students in the second, or in subsequent years, depending on when slots become available. Students are supported for a maximum of 36 months. Subsequent support, if needed to complete the Ph.D. degree, comes from research grant sources of the major professor.

Decisions by students to choose a research advisor are made at the end of the first year. Research rotations in the first year may be done with faculty in any of the three departments regardless of the graduate program of entry to the University. Students have the opportunity to transfer among graduate programs of departments by standard procedures of the Graduate School of the University.

In each department the process leading to the General Examination for Ph.D. Candidacy is slightly different. In Pharmacology, the examination is given both orally and in written format. In Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmaceutics, a series of written cumulative examinations begins in the second year of the program. The General Examination is given orally upon successful completion of the required number of cumulative examinations and of most course requirements.

The Final Examination for the Ph.D. degree in each department is given orally as a presentation of thesis research, held publicly. The seminar is followed by a thesis defense before the graduate student's Supervisory Committee and the graduate faculty of the University.

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Last updated: 2/21/08
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