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About Pharmaceutics: Letter from the Department
Chair
What is Pharmaceutics?
Pharmaceutics is the study of the
relationships between drug delivery, drug disposition and clinical
response. At the University of Washington, the Department of Pharmaceutics
has instructional and research programs that emphasize a Physiologically-Based
Approach to Drug Delivery and Disposition. This program includes
a molecular evaluation of drug delivery, metabolism and transport
processes, and the genetic and environmental factors that control
enzyme and transporter protein function. Nucleotide variability
within the genes coding for some of these proteins gives rise to
structural variants of the enzyme and transporter in the human population
with different intrinsic function. However, very little is known
about the genetic or environmental sources of variability in the
regulation of those genes. The next level of advances in pharmacotherapeutics
must include full integration of drug delivery, metabolism and excretion
processes with a mechanistic understanding of interindividual variability.
Studies in the Department pertain to several areas of therapeutics,
including the treatment of epilepsy, HIV infection, leukemia and
liver disease, and involve multiple faculty from different departments
within the University biomedical community. |
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| Instructional Mission
Our faculty provide training in biopharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics
to students seeking the PharmD
degree and licensure as a Pharmacist in the state of Washington.
The department is also responsible for the training
of students seeking a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences as a prerequisite
qualification for a career in the pharmaceutical industry or as
an academic scientist in the area of drug delivery and disposition.
In addition to the development and completion of a novel body of
research, our students must master the inter-relationships between
in vitro and in vivo drug disposition to continue to achieve success
in careers within the pharmaceutical and academic communities. Their
success in our relatively young program is evident from the leadership
roles that they are now assuming at academic institutions and in
the pharmaceutical industry. |
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| Faculty
 Faculty
in the Department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington
represent both pioneers and current leaders in the Pharmaceutical
Sciences. At the national level, Pharmaceutics faculty have served
in an advisory capacity to the federal government and pharmaceutical
industry. They have also held national office in professional organizations
and served on the editorial board of several journals within the
pharmaceutics discipline. In addition to close collaborations with
faculty in the Department
of Medicinal Chemistry, they work closely with colleagues in
the Schools of Medicine
and Public Health at
the University of Washington, including neurology,
gastroenterology, surgery,
anesthesiology,
oncology, microbiology,
environmental health
and epidemiology,
and the Washington
Regional Primate Research Center.
Since 1994, we have been fortunate to operate
our research and instructional programs in modern facilities housed
within the H-wing of the University of Washington Health Sciences
Center. With the exceptional caliber of our faculty and quality
of our research, we have been able to attract outstanding students
to our graduate program. Our association with the pharmaceutical
industry brings an awareness of new advances in pharmacotherapeutics
to our students with a critical evaluation of the potential impact
this will have on their future careers. |
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