This is an application for renewal of a longstanding program for predoctoral training in Pharmacological Sciences. Eight training slots are requested to support students in their first two years. The program seeks to meet the need for well-trained scientists who can maintain rapid progress in applying advances in biology to medicine. Rigorous training in molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, and cell biology, as well as pharmacology, forms the foundation of the program. These many disciplines are reflected in the research activities and classes offered to the students. The training program is conducted under the aegis of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) graduate program at Harvard Medical School. BBS draws its faculty members from various basic science departments and their affiliates, and the training program faculty is a subset of this group. The central department for this program is Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, although faculty members from other departments play important roles in the training program. The various departments and the training grant faculty are highly interactive. The research activities of the training grant faculty span a broad spectrum of pharmacological sciences with multiple areas of research strength. Students in the program are closely advised and monitored. In their first year, they take core courses covering multiple disciplines in basic biomedical sciences including pharmacological sciences, and a course that stresses reading original research papers and critical thinking. They are then required to take an advanced pharmacology course. Other courses offered include advanced courses in pharmacological sciences and/or human biology, which also stress critical thinking and the primary literature. Full time thesis research follows course work, laboratory rotations, and qualifying examinations. Students receive training in teaching, and participate in multiple other training activities including a yearly Science Day, seminars, journal clubs, and data presentation. This training plan should ensure the strengthening of a program that aims to train students who can play leadership roles in pharmacological sciences.
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