Research Programs
The fields of pharmacology and toxicology are by nature interdisciplinary biomedical sciences, drawing upon the foundations and approaches of cell biology, systems physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics and neuroscience.
A primary objective of pharmacology is to investigate fundamental aspects of cellular and molecular bio-regulatory mechanisms for the purpose of understanding how drugs act and in order to develop new drugs for treatment of disease. Toxicology examines how chemical agents produce adverse effects on the organism, and studies mechanisms by which these materials contribute to cancer, respiratory illnesses, neurological diseases, birth defects and many other disorders.
This multi-faceted perspective applies to the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Utah, which has a long standing reputation for research excellence and a rich tradition of training graduate students. The major research areas and opportunities for graduate training in the Department are listed below. Click on each topic to learn more about a specific area.