Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy

Xiaowei Dong, PhD, Graduate Advisor

Research and Education Building, RES-320D | Phone: 817-735-2785 | E-mail: xiaowei.dong@unthsc.edu

Graduate Faculty: Cheng; R. Cunningham; Dong; Ellis; Emmitte; Inman; Karamichos; Kastellorizios; Liu; Rasu; Simecka; White; Wu; Yan.

• 2021-22 Discipline Handbook for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy
• 2022-23 Discipline Handbook for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy
• 2023-24 Discipline Handbook for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy
• 2024-25 Discipline Handbook for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy

The Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy Graduate Discipline is an interdisciplinary discipline that offers both Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. The goal of this discipline is to provide students with a rigorous education and training in biomedical sciences with a specialty in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy. Students receive training through original research, formal classroom education, problem-based learning, seminars, and journal clubs. The discipline includes faculty members engaged in various aspects of basic, clinical, and translational research in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy.

The specific research interests of faculty cover a wide range of subjects, including cancer stem cell biology, target identification, natural product discovery, design and synthesis of new drug molecules, mechanistic studies of drug action (pharmacology), drug analysis, drug formulation and drug delivery, drug metabolism, drug resistance, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacogenomics, etc. The interdisciplinary research also includes investigation of the link between and among different categories of human diseases, such as cancer, aging and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases), HIV, psychiatric diseases, metabolic disorders, neurological disorders, and ocular diseases. The research projects employ state-of-the-art chemical, biochemical, molecular, cellular, immunological, in vivo and clinical, and health outcomes techniques that include computer-aided drug design, fermentation, chromatography, mass spectrometry, NMR, molecular cloning, gene targeting, FACS analysis, advanced fluorescence spectroscopy, optical imaging and advanced single cell technology, behavioral testing, cellular reprogramming, nanoparticle characterization, organoid modeling, and statistical methodology.

Students may enter the discipline after completing course work and laboratory rotations as required by the College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences. The discipline offers advance courses in all aspects of pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacotherapy. Students participate in seminars and discussion of current research and receive extensive laboratory training. Students perform original, publishable research, and present their research findings at regional and national scientific meetings. Approximately two years are required to complete the Master of Science degree, while the Doctor of Philosophy degree is completed in approximately five years.

Students who successfully complete a graduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacotherapy will be well prepared for careers in academic and government research laboratories, as well as in the pharmaceutical/ biotechnology industry.

Stipend and benefits for PhD students