The missions of the Department of Pharmacology are to guide aspiring physicians in the rational use of drugs, to prepare graduate students for lifetimes of scholarship in the discipline, and to develop, through basic research, novel ways to better utilize pharmaceuticals. In each of these endeavors, the Department emphasizes fundamental mechanisms of drug action. All full-time faculty are actively involved in the courses of study and in the opportunities for research extended to both medical and graduate students. Each faculty member maintains an active research laboratory.

The Program in Pharmacology

The graduate program in Pharmacology is designed to be interdisciplinary and to lead the student from a broad perspective core curriculum into specialized research of the student's choice. The overarching goal is to prepare adaptable professionals who can succeed in the many career options available to pharmacologists. Graduates of our program are employed in academia at undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, in the drug biotechnology and chemical industries, at research and regulatory facilities of the government and private foundations, and with contractors that manage clinical studies for drug safety and efficacy.

Research currently conducted in the department and open for graduate student participation includes systems, cellular and molecular projects conducted in humans, research animals, isolated organs or tissues, and cultured cells. Research interests of the faculty are diverse, which offers an educational advantage for graduate study. The curriculum consists of courses in modern biomedical sciences, introductory and advanced courses in pharmacology, and several laboratory rotations. Normally, all formal courses and rotations are completed by the end of the second semester of the second year. About three years are committed to full-time laboratory research culminating in the defense of a thesis.

The PhD is the degree emphasized. Students may enroll for the PhD degree alone or combined with an MBA or MD degree. The MD/PhD program requires students to be admitted to the medical school first by applying to the American Medical College Application Service. The MBA/PhD combination can be arranged when a student is admitted to the PhD program. The MBA component is offered through the College of Business at the nearby Harrisburg campus of Penn State University. Ninety-five degrees in pharmacology have been conferred since the graduate program began in 1971.

The departmental program is focused on research activities concerning the modes of drug action, and mechanisms for drug absorption, distribution, biotransformation, or excretion. Areas of subspecialization include molecular aspects of ion channel regulation and gene expression; specificity of enzyme isoforms as sites of drug action in metabolism of foreign substances; signal transduction systems; interactions of drugs with neurotransmitters, tissue factors, and hormones that govern activities of cell and body systems; and transgenic mouse models of neurotoxicity and DNA repair.