Contact: Dr. Richard Okita -- 301-594-3827
The NIGMS pharmacological sciences training grant program supports research training in pharmacology, toxicology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, and related areas. Because of the reliance of pharmacology on physiological principles, instruction in organ physiology should be included. Other areas in which students may conduct research include, but are not limited to: biochemistry, structural biology, neurobiology, immunology, microbiology, cancer biology, developmental sciences, experimental therapeutics, and various medical specialties (e.g., anesthesiology, psychiatry, cardiovascular research, gastroenterology, etc.).
The administrative center of a PS program may be in a school of medicine, a school of pharmacy, a school of veterinary medicine, or any other appropriate academic unit. However, the program should be interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, and preferably trans-institutional in its recruitment of potential students and faculty mentors.
The program should provide students with broad exposure to cutting-edge research relevant to the discovery and development of therapeutic agents and to the basic understanding of drug targets and mechanisms of action. As part of this training program, students are expected to participate in activities such as seminar series, journal clubs and/or annual research retreats, which augment their Ph.D. program, and provide valuable opportunities for interactions among participating students who typically come from a various departments or programs. It is expected that grant support will be in the early years of training when students are taking courses and completing qualifying exam requirements. Training grant support for any individual student should typically not exceed 24 months. After completing their training grant period, students should continue to participate in PS training program activities to continue their understanding of pharmacological sciences. It is important that training programs have clear expectations and measurables for students and faculty to have a successful training grant program. It is expected that graduates of these training programs should find positions in academic and government research labs, the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, and in government regulatory agencies.
Training in new research areas such as quantitative systems-based pharmacology or pharmacogenomics is encouraged. Involvement of students in human clinical pharmacology and translational research is also highly encouraged, provided it does not compromise their ability to develop their own independent thesis projects. It may be appropriate for training grant programs to define multiple tracks that meet the different needs of students with varied backgrounds and objectives. The focus of any particular PS training program will depend on faculty research strengths and the existence of other training programs at the institution. If an institution has other training grants (e.g., chemistry-biology interface, cellular and molecular biology), it is important to explain how the pharmacology training program is unique and clearly meets a training need for faculty and students. The presence of other training grant awards should not automatically exclude any faculty on these awards from participating in the PS training program but it is important that their inclusion as mentors or participating faculty meet the mission and objectives of the PS training program. Not all programs are expected to cover the entire range of PS research activities. Some may have strengths in molecular and cellular pharmacology; others may have strengths in whole animal and human in vivo studies (e.g., pharmacometrics, developmental pharmacology, and pharmacogenomics). Some may have a greater emphasis on toxicology, and others may emphasize training in drug metabolism, drug delivery, or drug discovery research. Overall, NIGMS seeks to maintain diversity and balance among the areas of research training supported by its portfolio of training grants