Pharmacology PhD Program

Michigan Pharmacology faculty, trainees, and research staff focus their work on understanding the complexity of cellular processes and the disease states can that occur when things go wrong. Some Pharmacology laboratories concentrate on elucidating how information is transmitted to cells in response to ligand binding to cell-surface receptors. Other laboratories work on molecular and genetic mechanisms responsible for disease, addiction, and reward. Still others investigate the actions of novel therapeutics in whole animals and in humans. State-of-the art techniques include induced pluripotent stem cell models, transgenic mouse, rabbit, and zebrafish models, high resolution imaging coupled to electrophysiology, and RNA therapeutics. Key collaborations with physicians provide access to patient samples and clinical trials.

The job market for pharmacology graduates is excellent. Career opportunities exist in the academe, the pharmaceutical industry, the burgeoning biotech industry, and government agencies. Importantly, many member of our extensive alumni base serve as career mentors and advisors to our trainees, opening doors and providing key contacts.

To learn more about where our PhD students go after graduation, see the Rackham Graduate School Program Statistics.

Doctoral students receive funding, which includes full tuition, healthcare benefits, and a stipend. The first year of funding comes directly from PIBS. Then Pharmacology coordinates funding through graduation from a wide variety of sources.

Many second year students are appointed to institutional T32 training grants, including the Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (PSTP), Systems and Integrative Biology (SIB), and the Human Genetics Training Grant. It is also common for senior students to secure individual fellowships after writing an F31 proposal in Pharmacology 502 - Introduction to Scientific Communication.