Pharmacology and Toxicology

Pharmacology is the study of the mechanisms by which drugs alter living organisms, while toxicology focuses on understanding the adverse effects of chemical and physical agents on human health. Together, these related disciplines explore the interactions between external agents, such as drugs and chemicals, and biological systems, such as the human body. Our work draws on molecular and cellular biology, genomics, structural biology, and chemistry to produce new knowledge and new avenues to improve health and wellness.

Our faculty conduct internationally recognized research in such areas as immunotoxicology and inflammation, renal toxicology, wound repair, nitric oxide biochemistry, nuclear receptor signaling, drug transport, and heavy metal toxicology. They have active, federally funded research programs and collaborate with colleagues across Rutgers and around the world. Core members of the CounterACT Research Center of Excellence, a federally supported initiative to develop medical countermeasures against chemical weapons, are among our faculty.

Our department is also committed to educating the next generation of pharmacists and scientists. We teach PharmD students, in classrooms and laboratories, about the molecular mechanisms that determine how drugs, pollutants, and other agents heal or harm the body. In graduate education, our department offers an interdisciplinary graduate program in toxicology that trains new scientists at the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels.