Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
MISSION STATEMENT
Boston University School of Medicine is committed to developing a training program directed toward preparing our students for the pharmacology of the next century. Advanced research in pharmacology requires an understanding of the principles and precepts of a broad range of disciplines. From the behavior of atoms in macromolecules to the effect of molecules on the behavior of organisms, the pharmacologist must be trained to think in terms of several dimensions simultaneously. This training need is reflected in the training partnership that we have developed among the Departments of Pharmacology, Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry and Medicine at Boston University, in order to provide unique training opportunities for our graduate students.
Pharmacology has, historically, provided the basis for most medical treatment, and remains the preferred mode of intervention in disease. It also has provided powerful tools for probing the function of biological systems. Much of the progress in pharmacology in the last century has resulted from the development of improved methods for evaluating drug action, whereas the process of drug discovery has remained largely empirical. In the past decade, progress in a number of fields has converged to the point that the traditional trial and error method of drug screening is beginning to be replaced by rational drug engineering based upon sophisticated understanding of the chemistry and structure of drugs and receptors.
Pharmacology has always been a fundamentally interdisciplinary field, positioned at the intersection of physiology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, behavioral neuroscience, and medicine. Typically, important advances in the pharmacological sciences have followed from research that bridges these fields. The pharmacology of the next century will bring together an even wider range of disciplines, combining traditional aspects of pharmacology with novel approaches drawn from disciplines such as biophysics, biomedical engineering, and molecular medicine.
The program is administered by the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics through a Program Graduate Education Committee. Students matriculate through the Department of Pharmacology and other participating university academic and research components: the Department of Biophysics, the Center for Advanced Biotechnology, the Biomolecular Engineering Research Center, and the Section of Biomolecular Medicine. The training program in molecular pharmacology has grown out of existing teaching and research collaborations among the faculty who staff the program. Support for these existing collaborations among the contributing components focus and ultimately strengthen these interactions and thereby the training experience of the students. With regard to practical experience, students receive instruction in the range of methods used in these disciplines, including molecular genetics, behavioral pharmacology, in vivo microdialysis, electrophysiology (including patch clamp and single channel recording), isolated organ systems, radioligand binding, cell culture, computational chemistry and molecular modeling, and biophysical methods such as NMR, CD, and X-ray crystallography.
