The Pharmacology Graduate Training Program's mission is to prepare PhD scientists in fields of pharmacology for careers in academic and industrial research, governmental agencies and a variety of professional paths Our mission is accomplished by training our Ph.D. students to be critical thinkers, embracing innovation and creativity to advance scholarship and scientific discovery. This training program is the only one at the University of Pennsylvania that trains predoctoral graduate students in fundamentals of Pharmacology. Current areas of research and training in the PGG are Neuropharmacology, Cell Signaling, Pharmacological Chemistry, Cancer Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Pharmacogenetics, Environmental Toxicology, and Translational Medicine. The PGG offers 14 graduate-level courses in Pharmacology and two recently developed workshops on “Professional Skills” and “Grant Writing/Candidacy Exam” preparation. Over the past five years the total number of students in the program has remained relatively constant with the current census at 68 (64 TGE) and the number of faculty trainers has remained near 60. Due to the training requirements associated with the training program, all predoctoral trainees supported by the training grant are in the PGG. We request support for 12 predoctoral training positions for the next 5 years. The pool of students available for appointment to the training program comprises all US residents or students with permanent resident status in the PGG. We support students for one to two years in Year 2 and 3 as most coursework and training workshops occurs during these years however all students supported with this training program continue to participate and enjoy the training related activities until awarding of their PhD.

The Pharmacology Graduate Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania is in its 33rd year, and over this time has produced 229 well-trained pharmacologists, who have made an impact in academia, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, regulatory agencies, and many other research related careers. The urgency to apply basic discoveries to the understanding and alleviation of human disease has never been greater. Thus, a major focus of our training program is on translational research, which is in many ways the essence of pharmacology