Rebecca L. Cunningham, PhD, Graduate Advisor
Research and Education Building 320C
Phone: 817-735-5080
E-mail: Rebecca.Cunningham@unthsc.edu
The Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy Graduate Program is an interdisciplinary program that offers both Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. The goal of this program is to provide students with a rigorous education and training in biomedical sciences with a specialty in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy. Students receive training through original research, formal classroom education, problem-based learning, seminars, and journal clubs. The program includes faculty members engaged in various aspects of basic and clinical research in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy.
The specific research interests of faculty cover a wide range of subjects, including cancer stem cell biology, target identification, natural product discovery, design and synthesis of new drug molecules, mechanistic studies of drug action (pharmacology), drug analysis, drug formulation and drug delivery, drug metabolism, drug resistance, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacogenomics, etc. The interdisciplinary research also includes investigation of the link between and among different categories of human diseases, such as cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases), HIV, psychiatric diseases, metabolic disorders, and ocular diseases. The research projects employ state-of-the-art chemical, biochemical, molecular, cellular, immunological, in vivo and clinical techniques that include computer-aided drug design, fermentation, chromatography, mass spectrometry, NMR, molecular cloning, gene targeting, FACS analysis, advanced fluorescence spectroscopy, optical imaging and advanced single cell technology, behavioral testing, cellular reprogramming, nanoparticle characterization, and organoid modeling.
Students may enter the program with a variety of academic backgrounds, providing they have fulfilled prerequisite courses. The graduate training program involves core courses that integrate key concepts of biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, physiology, pharmacology, immunology, microbiology, and cell biology, as well as advanced courses in pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacotherapy. Students participate in seminars and discussion of current research and receive extensive laboratory training. Students perform original, publishable research and present their research findings at national scientific meetings. Approximately two years are required to complete the Master of Science degree, while the Doctor of Philosophy degree is normally completed in approximately five years.
Students who successfully complete a graduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy will be well prepared for careers in academic and government research laboratories, as well as in the pharmaceutical/ biotechnology industry.