Industry Affiliations

We offer students a unique opportunity to explore drug discovery and translational science through a longstanding partnership with Pfizer and a more recent collaboration with Biogen, both in Cambridge, Mass.

The training experience of our pharmacology students is enriched by interactions with senior leadership and research staff at these pharmaceutical companies.

Students may participate in 7-week summer internships following the first year of study in a broad range of discovery areas including:

  • Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases
  • Neuroscience
  • Precision Medicine
  • Inflammation and Remodeling
  • Immunology and Autoimmunity
  • Orphan and Genetic Diseases
  • Global Biological Technologies
  • Drug Safety and Metabolism

These rotation experiences include a mentored research project and seminars in career opportunities and professional development. Our students have found these internships to be instrumental in continuing to develop their scientific and leadership skills.

In addition to the rotation experiences, the affiliation between our Department and industrial partners has also made it possible to offer yearly community-building, day-long symposia with leading scientists throughout the country.

These symposia bring academic and industry scholars together to share their unique research perspectives in the development of novel therapeutics.

In collaboration with Pfizer scientists, the department offers a one-semester course Drug Discovery and Development. This innovative curriculum addresses the discovery and development process for small molecule and protein drug products.

Topics include:

  • target identification and validation
  • lead optimization and selection of drug candidates for clinical testing
  • objectives and design of clinical trials.

The class is led by Pfizer scientists whose area of expertise pertains to the lecture topic. Students interact directly with scientists leading discovery in various topic areas and expanding their understanding of industry and the drug development process.