Skip to main content Skip to main menu
UF Health University of Florida
Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics College of Medicine
Donate
Education & Training Overview

Ph.D. Program

Biomedical Sciences Program: Concentration in Pharmacology & Therapeutics

book-close-2 Graduate Student BMS Handbook
Ph.d. General Facts Overview
Contact Admissions

Overview

The Advanced Concentration in Pharmacology & Therapeutics is one of seven concentrations leading to the PhD degree in the Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences (BMS) at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

The Pharmacology & Therapeutics training program enables our students to translate disease mechanisms into novel therapies. Our discipline is inherently translational and focuses on transforming basic science discoveries into clinical therapies. Our concentration promotes an independent yet highly interactive research environment that advances the basic understanding, prevention, and treatment of disease.

Program of Study

The curriculum in Pharmacology & Therapeutics is designed to prepare students for gainful employment in several major areas, including academic science, pharmaceutical/biotech industry, regulatory agencies or law.

Gaining Knowledge

The Learning Experience

The student learning experience consists of laboratory rotations, mentored research, a core pharmacology course curriculum, class electives, journal clubs, seminars, and data presentations within the University of Florida's primer research environment.

beige gold muscle_jpeg

Areas of research strength in the department include but are not limited to neurodegenerative, psychiatric, neuromuscular, neuroendocrine, chemosensory, and oncological conditions in humans. Course work focuses on biomedicine principles including, how drugs and biological agents are discovered, optimized, function, and biodistribute in patients, in addition to targeted team-based courses in translational research.

Pharmacology Immersion Program

The Pharmacology Immersion Program (PIP) is a one-week immersive program that incoming graduate students are encouraged to attend with the objective to:

  • Introduce fundamental concepts in pharmacology.
  • Provide hands-on experience with methods commonly used within the discipline pharmacology & therapeutics.
  • Interact with new students, fellow trainees, and primary faculty in the department.

Message from our Concentration Co-Directors

“Pharmacology is one of the most multidisciplinary and rapidly growing fields of biomedical science. Our graduate program in Pharmacology will prepare you for careers in both academic and industry settings. You will be exposed to a highly heterogeneous and interactive scientific environment that fosters interdisciplinary learning of disease mechanisms and therapeutic development. In our program you will receive training that supports independent scientific and critical thinking skills through rigorous coursework and cutting-edge science that promotes wholistic expertise in both basic and translational pharmacology. You will be exposed to numerous career and research development opportunities, specialized seminar series, and explicit training in grant writing. In addition, multiple NIH-funded Training (T32) awards within the UF Health Science Center will allow you to receive focused training and opportunities to develop interdisciplinary collaborations. We hope to welcome you to our program” -Gemma Casadesus, PhD & Jeffrey Harrison, PhD

Resources

PhD Program Contacts