School of Graduate Studies (SGS) - Newark Health Science Campus
Concentration in Pharmacological Sciences

All students must complete the required course (PHPY 5021 Fundamentals of Pharmacology) and take any two of the six offered elective courses. Depending upon electives chosen, this will be a total of 8 or 9 credits to earn the Pharmacological Sciences concentration.

REQUIRED COURSES 

PHPY5021Q Fundamentals of Pharmacology. 3 cr. Fall
The quantitative aspects of dose effect relationships, drug antagonism and specificity of drugs for effector systems are considered. Laboratory exercises are included.

ELECTIVE COURSES 

PHPY N5030Q Topics in Pharmacology. 3 cr. Spring
This course will cover a few selected areas in pharmacology. Drugs used in treatment of central nervous system disorders, endocrine clinical problems and chemotherapy. Textbooks: Goodman & Gilman’s “The Pharmacologic Basics of Therapeutics” and Katzung’s “Basic and Clinical Pharmacology.” Jan-May

PHPY N5225Q Principles of Toxicology, 3 cr. Fall 
This interdisciplinary course will survey the principles of toxicology that pertain to human health. Course content will include an historical background of toxicology and classroom instruction on organ and physiologic system dysfunction following exposure to toxic agents with emphasis on diagnostic techniques. Selected topics include: genotoxicity; carcinogenicity; teratology, toxicity of the central nervous; reproductive, respiratory and hematological systems; hepatic, renal, dermal and ocular toxicity. Presentation: an evidence oriented approach; material is presented through a series of lectures, small group discussions and self-study modules.

PHPY N526Q Prinicples of Toxicology II. 3 cr. Spring

PATH N5209Q The Business of Science: Drug Development - Discovery to Market. 3 cr. Fall
The goals of this course are to survey the basic concepts and strategies for drug discovery and development, with an emphasis on practical applications rather than theory; provide in-depth consideration of the key phases of pre-clinical drug discovery; examine the impact of rapidly changing “disruptive technologies” on the processes of drug discovery; study the basic design and conduct of phase 1-4 clinical trials; provide a forum for discussion of practical considerations of careers in drug discovery/development; and provide and opportunity for practical application of concepts.

GSND5320Q - Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Marketing
This course will help bridge the gap between science theory and practice in modern pharmaceutical and biotechnology business using major blockbuster drug launches over the past 20 years as examples. Each class will focus on a single therapeutic area (eg, Type 2 diabetes, cervical cancer, multiple sclerosis, GERD) and will be divided into two sections: first a review of relevant underlying pharmacological principles (eg., pharmacodynamics/mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and clinical study data) followed by case examples of how these concepts were used to develop specific product marketing and educational campaigns to support product differentiation. This course provides the student with a fundamental in-depth understanding of current concepts of cell biology and of basic types of pathological processes at the cellular level. Microscopic, submicroscopic, and molecular models of both normal and diseased cells will be critically examined and discussed.  Special attention will be given to normal and pathological changes associated with cellular organelles and with alterations in their structure and activity in various disease states. Cellular processes such as apoptosis and cell death, DNA damage and repair, telomere function and dysfunction, melanocyte function in the skin and consequences of its dysfunction, cellular changes which occur during aging of the skin, and the effects of viruses on cell structure and function will be discussed

Clinical Implications of Human Poisoning – GSND 5120Q 3. Cr. Spring
Clinical Implications of Human Poisoning will cover the clinical, historical, and public health aspects of toxicology resulting from human poisoning. The concepts covered in this course are essential to all medical and pharmaceutical disciplines. The students will learn and discuss the science as well as the science policy behind a large spectrum of toxins that have affected individual humans as well as large masses. The course will provide a (1) basic science introduction to toxicology, (2) a review of the clinical, historical, and controversial aspects of toxicology and (3) a discussion of the impact of toxicology on not only the human body but on the health of the population. Our focus will not be on the cellular level but will be on the organ, body, and population level. Students will learn through didactic lectures, patient narratives and cases, journal articles, simulation scenarios, and historical and public health reports, as well as video or audio media. Through these mediums, students will study real life scenarios of acute and long-term poisoning. Through the topics described in the course syllabus, this course will bring to focus the medical challenges in toxicology at the level of an individual patient as well as the related public health concerns. With the help of the lecturers, typically Emergency Medicine physicians and Medical Toxicologists, students will learn the scientific thought process behind solving these medical challenges. 

Concentration Coordinator:

Carol S. Lutz, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers NJMS
Associate Dean for Student Affairs, School of Graduate Studies, Rutgers SGS
Office C696, Medical Science Building
185 South Orange Ave, Newark, NJ 07103
PH (973) 972-4511
Email: lutzcs@njms.rutgers.edu