Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Boston University

Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics

PhD Training Program

NIGMS Training Grant/Program in Pharmacology

The training program in Pharmacology at BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine was honored in July 1997 with the award of a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) T32 Instructional Training Grant (Principal Investigator/Program Director, David H. Farb, PhD). In the 24-plus years since its inception, this University-wide program has flourished, providing a unique interdisciplinary and interdepartmental learning environment for doctoral students that spans the campuses of Boston University, giving access to some of the most outstanding laboratories in the fields of cancer, cardiovascular biology, metabolomics, neuropharmacology, neuroscience, and drug development.

Program in Pharmacology

Pharmacology has historically been an interdisciplinary field, positioned at the point of convergence of physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, organic chemistry, behavioral science, bioinformatics, and medicine. Emerging research in pharmacology will bring together an even wider range of disciplines, combining traditional aspects of pharmacology with novel approaches drawn from other disciplines, such as computational sciences, big data analysis, medicine, neural circuitry, biophysics, biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, bioimaging, and molecular genetics.

The predoctoral training program in Pharmacology is based on a training partnership among faculty in the Departments of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Biology, Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, Psychology, and the University-wide Graduate Program for Neuroscience. The curriculum formalizes interdisciplinary predoctoral training in molecular and translational pharmacology. Students receive formal training in the principles of molecular pharmacology and drug discovery and development, as well as in molecular genetics, biophysical, and structural approaches to the study of drug-receptor interactions. A major benefit of the program is to expand opportunities for students to carry out research in these areas. The structure of the program catalyzes collaborations among the participating faculty and fosters interactions among students and faculty of the participating components. This program produces scientists who understand and have firsthand experience in a broad range of technologies at the cutting edge of research in pharmacology.

PhD Curriculum