This Predoctoral Training Program is designed to provide a broad education in the Pharmacological Sciences leading to the Ph.D. degree. The Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (PSTP) is centered in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and is closely associated with the Molecular Pharmacology Graduate Program (MPGP a.k.a. MPTP), and includes faculty from three schools within the University and ten departments including Anesthesiology, Chemistry, Immunology, Medicine, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology, Neurology, Otolaryngology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Structural Biology. Graduate students entering this program are typically first recruited into the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program where they join a program that includes core didactic education in biomedical sciences, scientific ethics and statistics and research rotations. The training program provides graduate coursework in the essential elements of modern pharmacology including neuropharmacology, cancer pharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology, signal transduction and drug discovery and also elements of quantitative pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and drug metabolism. With the close guidance of the director and vice-director, students are encouraged to work with a select faculty who are dedicated to providing the very best environments to conduct rigorous research of the highest integrity. A culture of inclusivity and support for myriad career tracks is a requirement for trainee laboratories and a mentor training program in these areas is now required as is a course in career exploration that also provides individualized coaching. Students choose mentors from one of six research areas: Cancer Pharmacology, Cell and Organ System Pharmacology, Drug Discovery, Neuropharmacology, Signal Transduction and Structural Pharmacology. Following completion of the comprehensive exam and a dissertation proposal, students are engaged full time in research that promotes critical thinking, collaboration, co-mentorship and core training in experimental design. The PSTP thus provides a contemporary and exciting training opportunity for motivated students within a rigorous and nurturing environment and aims to generate Ph.D. graduates of the highest level of technical and theoretical preparedness.
Students who participate in this program will receive rigorous training in fundamental areas of pharmacology, physiology, molecular and structural biology and drug discovery, as well as participate in cutting-edge research that examines the mechanisms of action of drugs that are either currently in use or being developed to treat a variety of human diseases. At the core of the training program, high level emphasis will be placed on mentorship, student development in the ethical conduct of research, inclusivity and wide-ranging career guidance. The knowledge gained by these trainees will have a direct impact on human health as they apply this knowledge as basic researchers, clinicians, educators, business leaders, intellectual property specialists or public policy advocates in the development and implementation of safe and effective drugs.
