Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics

PhD Training Program

NIGMS Training Grant/Program in Pharmacology

The training program in Pharmacology at BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine was honored in July 1997 with the award of a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) T32 Instructional Training Grant (Principal Investigator/Program Director, David H. Farb, PhD). In the 24-plus years since its inception, this University-wide program has flourished, providing a unique interdisciplinary and interdepartmental learning environment for doctoral students that spans the campuses of Boston University, giving access to some of the most outstanding laboratories in the fields of cancer, cardiovascular biology, metabolomics, neuropharmacology, neuroscience, and drug development.

Program in Pharmacology

Pharmacology has historically been an interdisciplinary field, positioned at the point of convergence of physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, organic chemistry, behavioral science, bioinformatics, and medicine. Emerging research in pharmacology will bring together an even wider range of disciplines, combining traditional aspects of pharmacology with novel approaches drawn from other disciplines, such as computational sciences, big data analysis, medicine, neural circuitry, biophysics, biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, bioimaging, and molecular genetics.

The predoctoral training program in Pharmacology is based on a training partnership among faculty in the Departments of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Biology, Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, Psychology, and the University-wide Graduate Program for Neuroscience. The curriculum formalizes interdisciplinary predoctoral training in molecular and translational pharmacology. Students receive formal training in the principles of molecular pharmacology and drug discovery and development, as well as in molecular genetics, biophysical, and structural approaches to the study of drug-receptor interactions. A major benefit of the program is to expand opportunities for students to carry out research in these areas. The structure of the program catalyzes collaborations among the participating faculty and fosters interactions among students and faculty of the participating components. This program produces scientists who understand and have firsthand experience in a broad range of technologies at the cutting edge of research in pharmacology.

PhD Curriculum

The major focus of the training program is the development of expertise in basic and translational research, including effective scientific speaking and writing skills. Students receive guidance throughout the program in the development of their professional skills, including planning of career progression. The average tenure of PhD candidates in the Pharmacology training program is five to six years. The first two years of the program emphasize formal coursework designed to build understanding of the fundamental principles and methodology of pharmacology as it applies to biomedical research as well as drug development, administration, and mechanism of action. In addition, upon matriculation, students begin a sequence of three required laboratory rotations with outstanding mentors in research areas that include the pharmacology of addiction, aging, cancer, cardiology, drug design and delivery, epilepsy, and learning and memory. Other relevant fields include metabolomics, nanomedicine, neurodegeneration, and neurodevelopment using models as diverse as C. elegans, rodents, and zebrafish. The fourth rotation is optional. Emphasis is placed on the relevance of the research to treating diseases in human subjects. The laboratory rotations provide students with the opportunity to investigate potential areas for dissertation research while enhancing the breadth of their training. Students participate in an industry research training opportunity the summer after the first year of study, which provides firsthand experiences outside of the academic environment for developing future career planning with help from the program’s mentorship team.

Since the inception of the Pharmacology training program, most students have entered through the Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Department, but they can also enter through other departments or programs, such as the Graduate Program for Neuroscience. Specific requirements include satisfactory completion of core courses (18 units), a laboratory rotations course (4 units), elective courses (6 units minimum), and 64 units in total for post-BA students and 32 for post-MA. Students are expected to enroll in the following core curriculum courses in their first two years of study: modules I, II, III, and IV of Foundations in Biomedical Sciences (FiBS) course; Molecular and Translational Pharmacology; Molecular Neurobiology and Pharmacology; Laboratory Techniques in Modern Pharmacology; Systems Pharmacology and Therapeutics I and II; Current Topics in Pharmacological Sciences; and a course in biostatistics. Students also have the opportunity to take elective courses in pharmacology, including Cancer Biology and Genetics, Behavioral Pharmacology, Pharmacologic Intervention in Inflammatory Responses, and Drug Discovery and Development. This latter course is taught by instructors from Pfizer Inc., providing a unique industry perspective on the pharmacological sciences. During the last three years in training, students focus on the completion of their dissertation research. Students are also required to complete a minimum of 6 units of advanced coursework and report on their dissertation research in informal (Graduate Student Forums) and formal (Student Seminar series) settings. They are also expected to participate in activities to develop their professional skills in diverse careers in the biomedical workforce. Details of these activities are provided below.

MD/PhD candidates enter the PhD component of their training program after completing the first two years of the MD curriculum. These students complete 10 units of pharmacology “core" coursework, including Molecular and Translational Pharmacology, Molecular Neurobiology and Pharmacology, Current Topics in Pharmacological Sciences, and 6 units of electives. (MD/PhD students who intend to pursue cancer research for their dissertation may substitute Cancer Biology and Genetics for Molecular Neurobiology and Pharmacology.)

Learning Outcomes

The goal of the PhD program in Pharmacology is to train the next generation of biomedical scientists for careers in drug discovery and development. The following learning outcomes are integral to the programmatic training goal:

  • Demonstrate proficiency in areas of cellular and molecular biology, genomics, and physiology as they relate to molecular pharmacology.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in basic and advanced topics in pharmacology, including ligand-receptor theory, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, neuropharmacology, and systems pharmacology.
  • Generate and document original research findings in molecular pharmacology that include neuro, cardiovascular, and cancer pharmacology as key focus areas. The research must follow tenets of rigor and reproducibility.

Course Requirements

The Core—18 units minimum

  • GMS FC 711, 712, 713, 714 (12 units) (required for program students who enter through the Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Department)
  • GMS PM 701 Molecular and Translational Pharmacology (2 units)
  • GMS PM 702 Molecular Neurobiology and Pharmacology (2 units)
  • GMS PM 801 Systems Pharmacology & Therapeutics I (2 units)
  • GMS PM 802 Systems Pharmacology & Therapeutics II (2 units)
  • GMS PM 810 Current Topics in Pharmacological Sciences (2 units)
  • GMS PM 931 Research in Pharmacology (var units)
  • GMS PM 932 Research in Pharmacology (var units)

Program Electives—6 units minimum

  • CAS CN 510 Principles and Methods of Cognitive and Neural Modeling (4 units)
  • CAS MA 665/666 An Introduction to Mathematical Models & Data Analysis in Neuroscience (2 units)
  • CAS NE 741 Neural Systems: Functional Circuit Analysis (4 units)
  • CAS NE 742 Neural Systems: Cognition and Behavior (4 units)
  • ENG BE 560 Biomolecular Architecture (4 units)
  • ENG BE 561 DNA and Protein Sequence Analysis (4 units)
  • ENG BE 565 Molecular Biotechnology (2 units)
  • ENG BE 568 Systems Biology of Human Disease (4 units)
  • ENG BE 726 Fundamentals of Biomaterials (4 units)
  • ENG BE 727 Principles and Applications of Tissue Engineering (4 units)
  • GMS AN 704 Experimental Design and Statistics (3 units)
  • GMS AN 810 Systems Neurobiology (4 units)
  • GMS BI 776 Gene Targeting in Transgenic Mice (2 units)
  • GMS BI 777 Techniques in Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology (2 units)
  • GMS BY 760 Foundations of Biophysics and Structural Biology (4 units)
  • GMS BY 771 Biophysics of Macromolecular Assemblies (4 units)
  • GMS BY 772 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Biology & Biochemistry (2 units)
  • GMS FC 713 Architecture and Dynamics of the Cell (2 units)
  • GMS FC 715 Translational Genetics and Genomics (2 units)
  • GMS FC 720 Statistical Reasoning for the Basic Biomedical Sciences (3 units)
  • GMS MM 703 Cancer Biology and Genetics (2 units)
  • GMS MS 700 Elementary Biostatistics (2 units)
  • GMS MS 710 Transdisciplinary Addiction Science (2 units)
  • GMS MS 783 Molecular Basis of Neurologic Disease (2 units)
  • GMS PM 820 Behavioral Pharmacology (2 units)
  • GMS PM 843 Pharmacologic Intervention in Inflammatory Responses (2 units)
  • GMS PM 881 Drug Discovery and Development (2 units)
  • SPH BS 704 Introduction to Biostatistics (3 units)

Other Seminar Courses (2 units)

  • CAS NE 500 Frontiers in Neuroscience (2 units)
  • ENG BE 790 Biomedical Engineering Seminar (0 units)
  • ENG BE 792 Critical Literature Review (2 units)

Laboratory Rotations—4 units

  • CAS NE 800/1 Experimental Research in Neuroscience (3 units)
  • ENG BE 791 Laboratory Rotations in Biomedical Engineering (3 units)
  • GMS PM 710 Laboratory Techniques in Modern Pharmacology (2 units fall, 2 units spring); this is a two-term course with 7-week laboratory rotations to help identify a dissertation research mentor

Students are also accepted into the training program through departments other than Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics and through programs such as the Graduate Program for Neuroscience. Each of these PhD-granting programs, like pharmacology, requires 64 unit hours for completion plus a qualifying examination and a successful oral dissertation defense. The Pharmacology Program works with these PhD-granting units to develop training in pharmacology that will enhance the environment of the individual PhD discipline as described below.

Interdisciplinary PhD Program—Pharmacology and Neuroscience

For pharmacology students conducting neuroscience-relevant dissertation research, the Pharmacology Training Program offers a specialization in neuroscience that is managed by the University-wide Graduate Program for Neuroscience. GPN and its community of students and faculty covers the complete spectrum of contemporary neuroscience research, ranging from developmental and cognitive neuroscience to the molecular genetics of the nervous system and the development of synthetic biomolecules that alter the function of defined receptor populations. Students in Pharmacology take selected “core" neuroscience coursework with their student colleagues in the GPN program so that they emerge after training with a basic foundation in the field. Likewise, students in GPN receiving the PhD in neuroscience can choose to take selected “core" coursework with their student colleagues in the field of pharmacology.

The goal of the joint program is to enhance interdisciplinary training and research and to provide an academic and research environment at Boston University that trains and inspires the predoctoral pharmacology student to pursue a career that is relevant to the treatment of nervous system disorders. The central element of this program is an intensive period of full-time research in biomedical neuroscience. Students benefit from and contribute to the cross-campus neuroscience community that is an integral part of Boston University.

Laboratory Rotations

During the first year, predoctoral trainees enrolled through the Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Department register for two terms of GMS PM 710 Laboratory Techniques in Modern Pharmacology, in which they complete three, or sometimes four, laboratory rotations of seven weeks each. Students choose rotation mentors from the participating faculty, independent of department affiliation. This rotation experience provides exposure to a variety of experimental approaches to the study of pharmacology. Trainees are encouraged to select rotations in laboratories that approach problems from different perspectives, in keeping with the program’s fundamental goal of providing them a broad and more complete understanding of research strategies that have been developed to address questions of pharmacological importance. Rotations are designed to be a teaching instrument and students are encouraged to obtain publication quality data. Each student submits a paper written in the style of a research manuscript after each rotation that summarizes their research experience. At the end of each term, there is an additional course meeting at which students deliver presentations of their rotation experiences. Students receive a grade of Pass or Fail based upon their performance in research rotations and the grading of their written reports. The course manager reviews papers, provides evaluations to students, and maintains feedback to the faculty.

Industrial Internships in the Pharmaceutical Sciences

To broaden their experience on the range of pharmacological research and career opportunities that a PhD in pharmacology offers a 7-week internship in an industrial laboratory, made available via BU partnerships with industry research groups at Pfizer and Biogen.

Seminars

The Pharmacology seminar program, supported by institutional sources and the endowed Sterling Drug Visiting Professorship, brings outstanding scientists to Boston University from throughout the US. All students are required to attend pharmacology seminars. In addition, students register for at least one term of Current Topics in Pharmacological Sciences. In this course, the seminar speaker attends student presentations of research paper(s) related to the speaker’s research. This course has proved to be highly successful in providing students with essential background to the seminar speaker’s work and thereby preparing the students to participate actively in the department seminar. Trainees also receive information about seminars offered by other departments and are encouraged to attend those seminars relating to their area of research.

Qualifying Examination

At the end of the second year, each student takes a qualifying examination offered by their department of entry, which includes both a written and an oral component. For students entering through the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, the qualifying examination is administered by a committee of three faculty members selected by the student in consultation with their advisor. The composition of the Qualifying Examination Committee is reviewed and approved by the Program Director. The written component of the examination is in the form of a 6-page research proposal on a topic selected by the student and in the format of an NIH NRSA F30 or F31 application. After passing the written examination, the student undergoes an oral examination by the Qualifying Examination Committee, designed to test the student’s grasp of experimental design, understanding of statistics, knowledge of fundamentals of pharmacology, and knowledge of the subject matter of the qualifying examination proposal.

Workshops are held during the spring term of the second year to help pharmacology students prepare for the qualifying examination. (Students participate in GMS PM 932 Technical and Professional Skills in Pharmacology.) This course focuses on the development of skill in preparing research proposals, including use of appropriate experimental design and statistical analysis. An objective of the workshops and the qualifying examination is to enhance student skill in preparing predoctoral fellowship applications to external funding agencies including the NIH and maximize the likelihood of awards.

Monitoring of Student Progress

Prior to selection of a research mentor, student progress is monitored by the Program Director, who serves as the first-year advisor for entering students and the course manager of the laboratory rotations course. In the fall of the third year, a Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC) is constituted for each student, following successful completion of the PhD qualifying exams. The DAC meets every term (or more frequently if necessary) through the remainder of the student’s graduate studies. After each meeting, the DAC submits a written report on the student’s progress to the Program Director.

A Student Seminar Series is held each year to enhance student research presentation skills and improve student and faculty awareness of program research. Students receive training on giving clear and effective scientific presentations, focused on their thesis research, to a large and diverse scientific audience. Each PhD candidate is expected to give an annual research presentation beginning in their second year. Seminars are optional for students entering through GPN, as they participate in their own seminar series. Standard student seminars are 15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of discussion. Progress report seminars, given by students who have submitted at least one first author research manuscript and are within one year of graduation, are 35 minutes followed by 5 minutes of discussion. Each seminar session includes two or three student presenters. Students and faculty provide constructive feedback to students on presentation skills and style, as well as the scientific aspect of the talk, through evaluation forms.

Upon completion of the dissertation, the Dissertation Defense Committee, usually the Dissertation Advisory Committee plus one or more outside members, holds a Pre-Defense meeting to verify that the student is prepared to proceed to the dissertation defense. At the defense the student presents their work in a seminar and then meets with the Dissertation Defense Committee to defend their dissertation.

Presentation of Research Findings

Trainees are encouraged to develop their research presentation skills through participation in a variety of meetings, including the meetings of their laboratory research group, the Graduate Research Forum, and the Dissertation Advisory Committees, which are described above. A newly instituted Student Seminar Series provides predoctoral and postdoctoral students an opportunity to present a short talk on their research to a broader audience at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

Trainees also participate in a variety of other interdisciplinary forums at Boston University for presentation and discussion of research. Students are expected to participate in the Henry I. Russek Student Achievement Day and Awards Program, organized by Shelley Russek, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Biology. Each year since 1995, about 100 PhD and MD/PhD students participate by presenting posters and supporting their fellow students. Students from each basic science department and degree-granting program are selected to receive a monetary award that acknowledges their dedication and research accomplishments. Prior to the awards ceremony, first-place awardees present their results in a slide format. All students in the training program participate in this event.

Students also are encouraged to participate in the Boston University Graduate Research and Genome Sciences Institute Research Symposia. Awards are presented to students based on their abstracts and poster presentations. Students from the Pharmacology Program have an outstanding record of achievement at these meetings.

Trainees are also expected to present their research findings at national research meetings. All trainees are encouraged to give at least one oral talk at a national meeting if selected. They are also encouraged to present research findings at regional and local meetings. Travel funds are available through the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics Graduate Medical Sciences.

MA Curriculum

In exceptional cases, students are accepted into an MA degree program. The course requirements for MA candidates are 16 units of formal coursework including Molecular and Translational Pharmacology, Molecular Neurobiology and Pharmacology, Current Topics in the Pharmacological Sciences, and one additional 2-unit advanced course (800-level) in Pharmacology. In addition, students are required to attend departmental seminars.

After satisfactorily completing the first-year curriculum with a GPA of B (3.0) or higher, an MA candidate can, with the approval of the advisor, the Graduate Education Committee, and the Department Chair request a transfer into the PhD program by submitting a petition to Graduate Medical Sciences.

The MA degree requirements include preparation and submission of a thesis under the supervision of first and second readers. The thesis is based on the student’s original research, either library or laboratory based.

Training in Responsible Conduct of Research

Formal training on scientific integrity and issues of ethical principles in research is a required component of the curriculum. The Program in Responsible Conduct of Research is organized by the RCR Education Advisory Committee and implemented through the Boston University and Boston Medical Center Office of Research Compliance. To a very large extent, the topics addressed by this program match those identified by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, the American Association of Medical Colleges and the National Institutes of Health. This program, which was instituted in 1991, has covered a wide range of issues concerning the responsible conduct of research including, but not limited to, data acquisition, management, sharing and ownership, mentor/trainee responsibilities, publication practices and responsible authorship, peer review, collaborations, human subjects, laboratory animals, research misconduct, and conflict of interest. RCR training consists of both an online training module through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) as well as an in-person 10-week RCR course open to all PhD students and postdoctoral scholars. This course fulfills the new National Science Foundation requirements as well as existing National Institutes of Health requirements. Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers who will be taking advanced RCR training sign up and complete the course within two years of requirement notification. Training must be performed once every four years and at each new career stage.

Detailed information is provided in the Office of Research Ethics & Compliance guidelines.

Student Achievement

Students enrolled in the PhD program in pharmacology are expected to maintain a GPA of B (3.0) or higher. Students who fail to meet this standard will be considered for a terminal MA degree by the Program Director, Departmental Chair, and Graduate Education Committee. Students do not receive course units for grades below B–, in accord with standards of Graduate Medical Sciences. Student progress is facilitated by a Dissertation Advisory Committee (DAC) that meets each term, after completion of the PhD Qualifying Examination, to provide feedback. The Chair of the DAC, in consultation with the student, submits a written report after each term meeting and also discusses with the student progress in career planning.

Graduate Education Committee

A committee of five faculty manages most functions of the graduate training program. The committee meets to review matters that relate directly to the program as described above and to make recommendations to the Program Director and Department Chair.

For detailed descriptions of the academic programs in pharmacology, pharmacology and neurosciences, and pharmacology and biomedical engineering, refer to the department website.

For further information, contact the Departmental Manager of the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics at pharm3@bu.edu.