The Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences at The University of Georgia offers a Ph.D. degree program in all major disciplines of the pharmaceutical sciences, including pharmaceutics, pharmacology, toxicology, medicinal chemistry and other related biomedical sciences. Faculty within the department conduct highly interdisciplinary research including the design, synthesis and discovery of novel antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer agents, biological mechanisms of action of therapeutic agents, pharmacokinetics, signal transduction and cancer, neuroprotective agents, bioanalytical chemistry, nutraceuticals, nanotechnology and drug delivery, computational chemistry, genomic analysis and viral genes and injury prevention resulting from weapons of mass destruction and bioterrorism.
During the course of study, students will gain experimental and theoretical expertise in their area of concentration and will develop competencies needed for leadership positions in industrial, government or academic settings related to the pharmaceutical sciences or biotechnology.
Director of Graduate Studies – Jason Zastre, Email: jzastre@uga.edu Student Affairs Officer – Deborah Martinez, Email: deborah.martinez@uga.edu
30 hours
The primary mechanism for admission to the PhD program in the PBS department is through the UGA Integrated Life Sciences (ILS) Graduate Admission Portal program. Students apply to ILS, not directly to the PBS program. Key factors considered for admission to the ILS graduate program are: prior research experience and productivity; evidence of work ethic and commitment to biomedical research; evidence of appropriate educational background; grade point average; English language exam scores (for international applicants); references (particularly from laboratory supervisors); research interests of available faculty mentors; and other requirements of the UGA Graduate School. Instructions for submitting your application can be found at their website: https://ils.uga.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/
Choose 2 course(s) from the following:
|
PHRM 8010
Analytical Thinking
|
Modern Drug Discovery Approaches | 4 |
| PHRM 8020 | Molecular Pharmacology of Disease and Therapeutics | 4 |
| PHRM 8030 | Advanced Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics | 4 |
| PHRM(HPAM) 7230 | Ethical Issues in Research | 3 |
| PHRM 8080 | Grantsmanship | 3 |
| PHRM 8200 ^ | Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Seminar | 1 |
| PHRM 8250 ^^ | Presentation Skills | 1 |
^Seminar course is required to be registered every semester in the program ^^Students are required to take 4 semesters consecutively (typically the first two years of the program)
Choose 30 credit hour(s) from the following:
| PHRM 9000 | Doctoral Research | 1-18 |
Choose 3 credit hour(s) from the following:
| PHRM 9300 | Doctoral Dissertation | 1-15 |
At least 5 credit hours of 8000-level electives are chosen by the student, major professor, and advisory committee. At least one elective (3.0 credit hours) must be a PHRM course. Options include (but are not limited to):
| BCMB(CHEM) 8040 | Advanced Physical Biochemistry | 4 |
| BCMB(CHEM) 8110 | Advanced Topics in Protein Structure-Function Relationships | 3 |
| BCMB(CHEM) 8189 | Fundamental Principles of NMR Spectroscopy | 3 |
| BCMB(GENE) 8120 | Advanced Topics in Gene Expression | 2 |
| CBIO 8100 | Advanced Immunology | 4 |
| CBIO 8400 | Advanced Cell Biology | 4 |
| CHEM 8310 | Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 8320 | Synthetic Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 8340 | Organic Spectroscopic Analysis | 3 |
| GENE 8920 | Nucleic Acids | 3 |
| GENE 8930 | Advanced Molecular Genetics | 3 |
|
PHRM 8010
Analytical Thinking
|
Modern Drug Discovery Approaches | 4 |
| PHRM 8020 | Molecular Pharmacology of Disease and Therapeutics | 4 |
| PHRM 8030 | Advanced Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics | 4 |
| PHRM 8100 | Pharmaceutical Analysis I | 3 |
| PHRM 8110 | Pharmaceutical Analysis II | 3 |
| PHRM 8120 | Pharmaceutical Analysis III | 3 |
| PHRM 8190 | Cancer Biology and Therapy | 3 |
| PHRM 8260 | Pharmacokinetics | 4 |
| PHRM 8270 | Contemporary Concepts in Pharmacokinetics | 3 |
| PHRM 8500 | Engineering of Protein Therapeutics | 3 |
| PHRM 8600 | Drug Targets in Signal Transduction Pathways | 3 |
| PHRM(VPHY) 8940 | Organ Systems Toxicology | 4 |
| VPHY 8010 | Mammalian Cell Physiology | 3 |
| VPHY 8400 | Neurophysiology | 3 |
| VPHY 8960 | Molecular Toxicology | 3 |
| GRSC 7001 * | GradFIRST: First-year Research and Scholarship Training Seminar | 1 |
| GRSC 7770 ** | Graduate Teaching Seminar | 1-3 |
| GRSC 8550 | Responsible Conduct of Research | 1 |
*University Requirement, must be completed within the first year **Required for TA assignments only, per UGA TA Policy
Additional courses may be required depending on a student’s academic and professional background and the discretion of the student’s advisory committee.
The majority of our graduates are employed in the pharmaceutical industry with major multi-national pharmaceutical companies as well as smaller regional companies. Many of our students find opportunities in the rapidly expanding biotechnology industry where they attempt to bring the newest molecular biological techniques into modern therapeutics. In addition to industrial opportunities, many of our graduates find exciting careers with government labs and regulatory agencies. We also have many faculty serving at some of the premiere research and teaching universities in the world.
Departmental teaching assistantships are available to qualified students and are awarded on a competitive basis. These assistantships may be renewed annually contingent upon satisfactory performance of TA duties, remaining in good standing in the graduate program, satisfactory research and academic progress, and availability of funds. Faculty with external funding typically support the graduate students in their laboratories with Research Assistantships. The details of these assistantships vary based on the funding agency. Research assistants are not required to perform teaching assignments in the department.
Students are encouraged to pursue internship opportunities when those internships will facilitate their professional development and career aspirations.
Students are encouraged to present their research at conferences, professional meetings, and symposia. Students also are encouraged to write grant and fellowship proposals to help fund their research and to develop writing skills. Students are also expected to publish their research findings in peer-reviewed journals.
Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Student Organization (PBSO)
MS in Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences