Academic Departments
Overview
Our standing as a preeminent pharmacy school within a powerhouse academic health center rests on the commitment of five academic departments to our four-part mission of teaching, research, clinical practice, and service.
Chemical Biology
Our faculty members develop new insights into how the body interacts with chemicals, including food, drugs, and environmental agents, and use this knowledge to understand human health and to identify novel pathways for confronting human disease. These distinguished scientists run active research labs that attract significant federal funding while serving as enthusiastic mentors to the next generation of pharmacists and research scientists. Ours is also the founding department of the Center for Cancer Prevention Research.
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal chemistry brings together the disciplines of chemistry and pharmacology in the design, synthesis, and development of pharmaceutical drugs. This work encompasses the transformation of new chemical entities into potential therapies as well as the further study of existing drugs. Our faculty’s impressive record of drug patents, investigational new drug applications, and commercial licensures of novel technologies is a testament to the innovative nature of their work. We are equally committed to our students, who include pharmacy and non-pharmacy majors as well as young scientists in our master’s and doctoral programs.
Pharmaceutics
Pharmaceutics is the science of converting potential drugs into effective medicines and delivering them to the body through strategies that maximize efficacy while minimizing toxicity. Our faculty members run active research labs making major advances in treating cancer, asthma, AIDS, and other diseases; these scientists hold more than a dozen patents and have pioneered several promising start-up companies. Our department also prepares young scientists, from PharmD students to postdoctoral fellows, for successful careers in pharmacy, the pharmaceutical sciences, and related fields.
Pharmacy Practice and Administration
Our faculty are teachers and practicing pharmacists. As teachers, they closely mentor students in the classroom, on their clinical rotations, and in student groups and organizations. As practicing pharmacists, they work in healthcare settings from hospitals, medical centers, and health clinics to community and retail pharmacies. Many of our faculty members also conduct clinical research that leads to improvements in patient care. By modeling the values and competencies of the pharmacist, our department guides the next generation in the practice of patient-centered, population-based pharmaceutical care in all its varied environments.
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Pharmacology and Toxicology
These related disciplines, pursued together, elucidate the interactions between external agents, such as drugs and chemicals, and biological systems, such as the human body. Our faculty research draws on molecular and cellular biology, genomics, structural biology, and chemistry to produce new avenues toward greater health and wellness. This work attracts high levels of federal funding. Among our faculty are core members of CounterACT, a federal initiative to develop medical interventions against chemical weapons. Our scientists are also educators, teaching PharmD students and training graduate students at the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels.