Department of Pharmacology (GRAD)

The Department of Pharmacology offers a program of study that leads to the degree of doctor of philosophy in pharmacology. The curriculum is individualized in recognition of the diverse backgrounds and interests of students and the broad scope of the discipline of pharmacology.

The department offers a variety of research areas including

1. Receptors and signal transduction
2. Ion channels
3. Neuropharmacology
4. Cancer pharmacology
5. Gene therapy
6. Pharmacology of alcohol and drugs of abuse

The student is expected to begin independent research early in his or her training and to participate in an intensive program of research seminars. Close personal contact between preceptor and trainee is encouraged.

Research Facilities

Laboratory facilities and a variety of research equipment are available in the department, which is located primarily in the Genetic Medicine Building, where it occupies approximately 30,000 square feet (exclusive of classrooms and animal facilities). In addition, several faculty members are located in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Thurston Bowles Alcohol Center, and the Neurosciences Building.

Assistantships and Other Student Aid

All graduate students in pharmacology are provided a competitive stipend. UNC–Chapel Hill tuition and fees and health insurance are also covered.

Requirements for Admission

All students in the basic science departments in the Medical School and the biological sciences divisions in biology and chemistry enter graduate school through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program. During the first year students take courses and complete three rotations in laboratories from any of the participating departments or curricula.

After identifying a research mentor, if that faculty member is affiliated with the Pharmacology Department, students can choose to join the pharmacology graduate program. Once in the program, students complete required coursework and qualifying examinations, propose a research topic, choose a dissertation committee, and engage in dissertation research. The anticipated duration of training is five years.

The pharmacology graduate program is dedicated to the training of outstanding scientists in the pharmacological sciences. An outstanding graduate program is a high priority of the department, and the training faculty participate fully at all levels. The department has the highest level of NIH funding of all pharmacology departments and a great diversity of research areas is available to trainees. These areas include cell surface receptors, G proteins, protein kinases, and signal transduction mechanisms; neuropharmacology; nucleic acids, cancer, and antimicrobial pharmacology; and experimental therapeutics. Cell and molecular approaches are particularly strong, but systems-level research such as behavioral pharmacology and analysis of knock-in and knock-out mice is also well-represented. Excellent physical facilities are available for all research areas.

Students completing the training program will have acquired basic knowledge of pharmacology and related fields, in-depth knowledge in their dissertation research area, the ability to evaluate scientific literature, mastery of a variety of laboratory procedures, skill in planning and executing an important research project in pharmacology, and the ability to communicate results, analysis, and interpretation. These skills provide a sound basis for successful scientific careers in academia, government, or industry.

To apply to BBSP, students must use The Graduate School's online application form. They should read carefully the information for domestic or international applicants before beginning the application. For Question 2 of the application, applicants should scroll down to School of Medicine and select "Biological and Biomedical Sciences" from the dropdown list.

The following materials are required for an application to be considered complete:

1. Nonrefundable application fee (the department cannot review the application until this is paid)
2. Copies of each of the student's transcripts
3. Letters of recommendation (submit online)
4. Personal statement (submit online)
5. GRE scores (must be less than five years old; UNC–Chapel Hill institution code is 5816)
6. TOEFL score (must be less than two years old and is necessary only if the student is an international applicant who does not have an undergraduate degree from a United States university)

For Graduate School information and submission of application materials, please consult the Graduate School Admissions Office Web site.

For program information and submission of application materials, prospective applicants may write to the following address:

BBSP Admissions
130 Mason Farm Road
1125 Bioinformatics Bldg.
CB#7108
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7108
Telephone: (919) 843-6960
Email: bbsp@unc.edu

Courses

Numbered 700-999:

• Pharmacology (PHCO)

Pharmacology, Ph.D.

The basic course requirements for the Ph.D. degree include introductory and advanced courses in pharmacology and related programs in accord with the principal interest of the students in molecular pharmacology, neuropharmacology, or toxicology. In addition, in order to satisfy the requirements of the department and The Graduate School, the student must pass written and oral doctoral examinations, write a dissertation based on original research, and submit to a final oral examination. Under special circumstances the department will offer a program leading to the M.S. degree. The requirements are appropriate coursework, a written comprehensive examination, a thesis based on original research, and a final oral examination.

Course Requirements

¹

Can be substituted by an equivalent grad-level class in statistics – PL – depending on the substitution, this could result in 2 fewer credits being required.

²

This 3-credit course must be taken four times for a total credit of 12. Most students will take about 20 – 30 credits of PHCO 994, far more than the 12 required credits.

Milestones

The following list of milestones (non-course degree requirements) must be completed; view this list of standard milestone definitions for more information. 

• Doctoral Committee
• Doctoral Oral Comprehensive Exam
• Doctoral Written Exam
• Prospectus Oral Exam
• Dissertation Defense
• Doctoral Dissertation Approved/Format Accepted
• Residence Credit
• Doctoral Exit Survey
• Doctoral Manuscript Submission (Accepted)
• ​Doctoral Intradepartmental Review

Professors

James Bear, Cell Motility, Migration, and Cancer Metastasis¹
Jean Cook, Cell Cycle Control in Human Cells
Fulton T. Crews, Excitotoxicity, Gene Delivery, Neuroprogenetor Stem Cells and Addiction
Blossom Damania,  Intersection of Viruses, Cancer Biology and Immunology with the Goal of Treating Virus-Associated Cancers.¹
Channing Der, Ras Protein Superfamily, Signal Transduction and Oncogenesis
J. Alex Duncan, Inflammation and Immune Response and Host Pathogen Interactions¹
H.G. Dohlman, Receptor and Signal Transduction: Mechanisms of Drug Desensitization¹
H. Shelton Earp, Growth Regulation, Growth Factor and Protein Kinases¹
Timothy Elston, Mathematical Modeling of G-Protein and MAP Kinase Signaling
Michael Emanuele, Cell Cycle, Mitosis, Protein Stability, Ubiquitin, Cancer, Genetics, Cell Biology
Shawn Gomez, Computational Biology, Systems Biology, Cancer¹
Lee M. Graves, Kinome Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Cancer Drug Resistance
Klaus Hahn, Development of Fluorophores for Site-Specific Protein Labeling, Live Cell Biosensors and Their Biological Applications, Motility, Apoptosis, and Crosstalk in Signaling
Clyde Hodge, Molecular Mechanisms Mediating the Reinforcing/Pleasurable Subjective Effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs¹
Brian Jensen, Transthoracic and Transesophageal Echocardiography, Heart Failure, Myocardial Biology, Adrenergic Receptor Biology1
Gary L. Johnson, Receptors/G-Proteins, Defining the Signal Relay Systems Initiated by Various Cellular Stimuli (Including Cytokines), Growth Factors, Antigens, and Drugs Used to Treat Human Disease
Thomas Kash, Neurophysiological Alterations Underlying Dysregulated Emotional Behavior
Terrance Kenakin, Drug Discovery and Development for Seven Transmembrane Receptors, Protein Allosteric Mechanisms/Signal Efficacy
William Kim, Cancer Genetics
David Lawrence, Chemical Biology of Signal Transduction¹
Nigel Mackman, Role of Tissue Factor in Hemostasis, Thrombosis and Ischemia-Reperfusion (I/R), Injury¹
Leslie Morrow, Molecular Neuropharmacology of GABA Receptors and Alcohol
Robert A. Nicholas, G-Protein-Coupled P2Y Receptors, Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance¹
Bryan Roth, Regulation of Signaling and Trafficking, Drug Discovery
Janet Rubin, Mechanical and Hormonal Control of Bone Remodeling, Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation, and Osteoporosis¹
R. Jude Samulski, Development of Efficient Viral Vectors for Gene Delivery into Eukaryotic Genes
John Sondek, X-Ray Crystallography and Transmembrane Signaling
Juan Song, Adult Neurogenesis Function and Regulation
Susan Sumner, Precision Nutrition, Personalized Medicine, Biomarkers, Metabolomics and Integrated-Omics¹
Jen Jen Yeh, Gene Expression Profiling of Human Tumors; Study, Development, and Evaluation of Novel Therapeutics; Pancreatic and Colorectal Cancer¹
Samuel Young, Genetics and Metabolism

Associate Professors

J. Mauro Calabrese, Epigenetic Control by Long Noncoding RNAs, Genomics, Stem Cells, Cancer, Human Genetic Disorders
James Fiordalisi 
Zoe McElligott, Substance Abuse, Anxiety and Depression 
Yinglong Miao, Biomolecular Modeling, Cellular Signaling, Computer-Aided Drug Design 
Somnanth Mukhopadhyay, Cannabinoid and G-Protein Coupled Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Neurogenesis and Angiogenesis 
Nathan Nicely, Macromolecular Crystallography & Protein Expression and Purification Cores 
Kevin Pruitt, Wnt Signaling, Disheveled, Cancer Epigenetics, Aromatase, Tumor Microenvironment (TME), Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs), Nuclear Localization 
Kimberly Ritola 
Gregory Scherrer, Pain and Opioids ¹ 
William Zamboni, Application of Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Pharmacogenetic Principles in the Optimization of the Chemotherapeutic Treatment of Cancer, Nanoparticle Drug Delivery ¹ 
Qisheng Zhang, Lipid Signaling in Development and Disease¹ 

Assistant Professors

Maria Aleman, Non-Malignant Hematology with a Focus on Erythropoiesis, RNA Regulation, and Iron Metabolism 
Edward Bahnson, Vascular Biology, Redox Biology, Vascular Disease, Drug Delivery ¹ 
Adriana Beltran Lopez, Human Pluripotent Cell Core Genetics ¹ 
Nicholas G. Brown, Cell Cycle, Mitosis, Ubiquitin Ligases, Anaphase Promoting Complex 
Elizabeth Brunk, Multi-Omics Data Integration, Cancer Genomics, Machine Learning & Bioinformatics, Functional Precision Medicine 
Kirsten Bryant, Autophagy, Pancreatic Cancer, Cancer Metabolism, RAS Oncogenes, Molecular Therapeutics 
Leon Coleman, Immune Mechanisms in Drug Addiction and Critical Illness, Neurodegeneration, Extracellular Vesicle Signaling 
Daniel Dominguez, Gene Regulation, RNA Processing and RNA Binding Proteins in Cell Signaling and Disease 
Laura Ferguson, Alcohol Use Disorders 
Melissa Herman, How Structural Changes of Inhibitory Neuronal Networks Contribute to Addiction and Stress 
Wesley R. Legant, Microscopy, 3D Image Analysis, Biomaterials, Cell Migration, Cancer Metastasis, Tissue Engineering 
John Morris, Oncogene & Tumor Suppressor Networks, Malignant Specification & Lineage Plasticity, Evolution of Cancer Epigenetic & Genomic Heterogeneity 
Adam Palmer, Combination Cancer Therapy 
Laura Rupprecht, Gut-Brain Mechanisms Underlying Substance Use Disorder 
Jonathan C. Schisler, Cardiovascular Genomics, Proteinopathies, and Cellular Metabolism in Neuronal and Cardiovascular Disease 
Jessica Walsh, Neural Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Motivated Behavior, Neurodevelopmental & Psychiatric Disorders, Functional & Anatomical Mapping of the Brain 

Adjunct Professors

Professors Emeriti

Adrienne D. Cox
T. Kendall Harden
Alan Jones
Rudolph L. Juliano
Ryszard Kole
Ken McCarthy
Gene A. Scarborough
Yanping Zhang

¹

joint faculty members