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Department of Pharmacology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons
Degree Programs:
Full-Time: M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Chair:
Robert
S.
Kass, M.D., Ph.D.
Presbyterian Hospital PH 7W318
Tel:
212.305.8778
Director of Graduate Studies:
Daniel
Goldberg,
Ph.D.
Co-Director of Graduate Studies:
Steven
Siegelbaum,
Ph.D.
PI AX 616
Tel:
212.543.5246
Pharmacology is a unique basic science in that
it bridges the most fundamental research questions with the goal of providing
new and improved therapeutic interventions to manage disease processes. Hence,
as a discipline, areas of research encompassed by Pharmacology are broad and
diverse. At Columbia,
the Pharmacology department occupies a unique position in that strong research
programs exist in neurobiology behavior, cancer and cardiovascular research, and in each
area strong collaborative and synergistic interactions exist with the faculty’s
clinical colleagues. The opportunities for biomedical research in pharmacology
at Columbia are
virtually boundless.
An interdisciplinary training program in Pharmacological Sciences leads to the
Ph.D. degree. The program has been designed to provide maximum flexibility so
that students can gain a strong foundation in chemistry, biochemistry, and
cellular and molecular biology and apply this background in a wide variety of
laboratory experiences. The program requires a core of courses that integrate
well with requirements of other departments at the Health Sciences so that
interactions with students and faculty in other departments are facilitated.
Additional work in laboratory rotations, journal club, departmental seminars
and reading assignments with members of the faculty is designed to provide
students with a strong background and also to help with the process of
selecting a thesis topic. After successful completion of the qualifying
examination, students work with faculty sponsors and thesis committees to
design and conduct dissertation research and write and defend a dissertation.
The goal of the program is to prepare the students for careers as independent
scientists and teachers with broad backgrounds in modern molecular and systems
pharmacology.
The program includes faculty from the Department of Pharmacology as well as
other Columbia basic science departments and centers, including the Departments
of Chemistry; Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics; Neuroscience; Pathology
and Cell Biology; the and Physiology and
Cellular Biophysics. Much research in the program focuses on basic molecular
interactions between drug molecules and target proteins in order to provide
fundamental information that will lead to the discovery of more selective and
effective therapeutic approaches to disease management. Opportunities exist for
investigation of gene-directed therapies in the treatment of inherited
disorders using biophysical as well as bioinformatics approaches to the
problems.
Current research interests of the faculty fall into four broad categories: neuropharmacology, molecular cardiology,
structural pharmacology and the pharmacology of signal transduction. Research
opportunities currently include, but are not limited to, the development of
chemical probes to investigate protein-protein interactions; prediction of
protein structure based on genetic message; investigation of the molecular
architecture of signaling molecules; investigation of the genetic basis of
behavior and the development of brain disorders in mice; structure/function
studies of G-protein coupled receptors; and probing the molecular pharmacology
of inherited cardiac arrhythmias. Most of the questions addressed by faculty at
the cellular and molecular level are also being addressed at the systems level
using appropriate models in which genetic manipulation allows testing the
effects of gene-specific strategies on systems function. It is the fundamental
philosophy of the program to encourage broad interactions between laboratories,
both within and outside of the program, so as to promote new ideas and
approaches through synergistic and collaborative research. In this manner, and
with the unified approach to graduate education at Columbia, students can design research
opportunities in pharmacology in virtually any scientific area of biomedical
science.
Special Admission Requirements
Admission is based on the student’s previous
academic performance, Graduate Record Examination score (general test), letters
of recommendation and interviews with members of the program. Ordinarily,
preference is given to students who have a background in biology or chemistry,
with a year of mathematics through calculus.
Apply to: Office of Graduate Affairs, Room 406, Hammer Health Sciences
Center, 701 West 168th Street., New York, NY 10032; (212) 305-8058; fax: (212)
305-1031.
Deadline to apply: December 15.
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