Work in our department focuses on the mechanisms of drug action and the exploration of new ways of using drugs to treat and cure disease. The department is responsible for medical student education in pharmacology offering coursework, tutoring, and summer internships, and it has a Ph.D. program designed to prepare candidates for careers in pharmacological research. Research areas of particular interest to our department are outlined below (click on a topic for more information):

A critical aspect of drug action is how drugs are processed by the body. Pharmacokinetics is the study of how drugs are absorbed, metabolized and eliminated. Understanding pharmacokinetics is essential for conducting Clinical Pharmacology research which involves the analysis of drug action in human subjects.

A large amount of the research in our department is centered around the area of Neuropharmacology. This discipline focuses on drugs which act primarily on the central nervous system. Within this broad category are projects aimed at understanding the action of Neuropeptides, an important class of signaling molecules found in the brain and other tissues. In addition, researchers in our department are trying to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the process of Drug Abuse. Laboratories which concentrate on the field of Behavioral Pharmacology analyze the behavioral effects of drugs which primarily have their effect on the brain.

Many diseases involve disruption of particular organ systems or our body's natural defense systems. Cardiovascular Pharmacology explores the agents that can be used to intervene in cardiovascular diseases. Immunopharmacology is the study of drugs designed to augment or modulate the immune system in disorders ranging form allergy to cancer to HIV/AIDS.

The genetic revolution has led to an explosion of information about the specific genes or gene products that are targets of drug action. Molecular Pharmacology involves the characterization of these target drug receptors. The goal of these studies is to understand the relationship between drug structure and function. These experiments can provide the basis for rational Drug Design in which a specific chemical is synthesized and tested with a therapeutic target in mind.