Ph.D. in Pharmacology

The Pharmacology Ph.D. trains you in the advanced research methods and statistical analysis required for scientific study in the field. You’ll conduct an original research project exploring the action of drugs at the systemic, cellular and subcellular levels. As an aspiring pharmacologist, you’ll learn how to develop new drugs to treat illnesses like kidney disease, cancer and diabetes, and how to evaluate them for safety and efficacy. By the end of the program, you’ll thoroughly understand organ system function and pathological states, and the impact therapeutic drugs can have on treating disease.

The research interests of our faculty are generally focused on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic pharmacology and use a wide variety of experimental approaches and collaborations with scientists in other basic science and clinical departments. Our graduates work in many universities, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies. Some of the varied roles of our Ph.D. graduates include:

• Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
• Associate Director of Business Development & Licensing at Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
• VP, Director of Life Sciences Investments at Wexford Capital LP

Our program size allows for close collaboration between students and faculty, and our program is tailored to meet your individual needs and interests. With guidance from our expert faculty, you’ll have a solid foundation in biomedical research and be prepared for a successful career in pharmacology and biomedical science.

Pharmacology Ph.D. Careers

A Ph.D. in Pharmacology opens up significant opportunities for your science career. As a Ph.D. graduate, you can pursue senior and supervisory positions to lead research projects at pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical companies. Ph.D. graduates can also apply their expertise in regulatory and policy affairs in industry and government positions.

According to BLS.gov, medical scientists like pharmacologists can look forward to faster-than-average career growth. This is due in part to an increased trend of some chronic conditions and an aging population, both of which make new pharmaceutical breakthroughs indispensable for a healthy population. Research around continuing areas of concern, such as cancer and infectious diseases, will increase funding and demand for drug development.

In addition to industry or government, you can continue your academic career in schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and veterinary medicine. Furthermore, as pharmacology spans many disciplines, you can also find academic positions in departments of biology, cell biology, chemistry, biochemistry, pathology, immunology, microbiology and molecular biology.

Program Curriculum

Whether you’re entering through the Integrated Ph.D. Program (IPP) or with advanced standing, the course requirements are the same. Aside from the core didactic coursework, the main focus of the Ph.D. program is research. You’ll have the opportunity to enroll in up to three lab rotations early in the program, which gives you the opportunity to discover where your research interests lie.

The curriculum will introduce you to pharmacological principles and examine drug interactions from a biochemical and anatomical perspective. You'll learn how chemical agents interact with living tissues and study therapeutic and toxic drug actions. You'll learn how to use research methods involving quantitation of responses, statistical analysis, and critical interpretation of data.

Courses will explore specific drug types in detail; for example, you'll study cardiovascular drugs and how they're used to treat congestive heart failure, hypertension and other conditions. As you progress in the Ph.D. program, you'll learn to use advanced research techniques and instrumentation, and assist with teaching and laboratory demonstrations. Visit the Pharmacology curriculum page for detailed descriptions of our courses and lab rotations.

Earning your Ph.D. is a multi-step process that includes a qualifying examination and meetings with your dissertation committee. For a detailed overview of Ph.D. requirements over the length of the program, visit our Ph.D. Program Requirements page.

Pharmacology Department Research Areas

In a broad sense, the research projects in the department examine how hormones and neurotransmitters regulate specific organ functions, and their role in disease states and drug responses. We also examine how to address medical problems involving different organ systems; our research mainly focuses on vasculature, heart and kidney function and disease. As a Ph.D. candidate in pharmacology with faculty mentorship, you’ll be making key discoveries on how therapeutic drugs impact the body.

Active areas of research include:

• Cardiovascular and renal disease
• Therapeutic and pathophysiologic role of bioactive lipids (eicosanoids) in disease progression
• Obesity

Cardiovascular Diseases

• Hypertension
• Kidney disease
• Diabetes
• Atherosclerosis
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Angiogenesis
• Connection of periodontal infection to cardiovascular disease

Research Funding and Collaborations

The research programs in the Department of Pharmacology are funded by various intramural and extramural sources including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and American Heart Association. Translational aspects of the research programs in the department are exemplified by fostering collaborations with clinicians through specific IRBs that allows for procurement of specimens to identify biomarkers and/or causative factors in diseases.

Featured Research Projects

Admission into the Pharmacology Ph.D. Program

The admissions committee for our Ph.D. program views each application holistically. A master’s degree or GRE is not required to enter the program. Although we consider students from a variety of academic backgrounds, we recommend that Ph.D. applicants have a foundation in the sciences and some prior wet lab research experience. An interview will be conducted before admission into the program. Please review Ph.D. admissions and application requirements.

Pharmacology Department Faculty

Every day in the Department of Pharmacology, our faculty members are hard at work investigating important issues in the field, especially in regard to cardiovascular pharmacology. As a student in the program, you'll gain firsthand insight from some of the best minds discovering new cures and treatments for disease. Some of the current research topics of faculty include the mechanisms of inflammatory bone loss, the regulation of angiogenic processes related to cancer growth, as well as the regulation of potassium channels as it relates to cardiovascular disease. In our program, graduate faculty mentors provide guidance for your original laboratory research, and our 2:1 student-faculty ratio allows for plenty of individual attention. Learn more about our knowledgeable and experienced biomedical sciences faculty.