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Randal A. Skidgel, PhD
Graduate Studies Coordinator |
Program DescriptionThe Department of Pharmacology offers training in molecular and cellular pharmacology and integrative biology leading to the PhD or MD/PhD degree. The department has research strengths in the areas of vascular and lung biology, cell signaling, molecular pharmacology of G proteins, the molecular and cellular basis of inflammation, and neuroscience. Course work focuses on broad exposure to the intellectual underpinnings of molecular pharmacology and cellular signaling. Members of the faculty collaborate within the department as well as with members of other departments including those in the Department of Medicine with an eye to facilitating translational research. The Department has a strong record of research funding as it ranks 10 th nationally in extramural research support from the NIH. Twenty-five percent of our faculty members have three or more NIH-funded grants. In addition to this strong support by the NIH, faculty members are funded by non-governmental sources such as the American Heart Association, the Arthritis Foundation and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 
The Center for Lung and Vascular Biology comprises investigators who are actively involved in basic and translational research related to pathologies of lung and vasculature (e.g., childhood asthma, acute lung injury, inflammatory diseases, acute transplant rejection, and diabetes). The Center brings together basic and physician scientists from a wide range of disciplines who are engaged in related research so that they can more efficiently collaborate on studies leading to the discovery of new drugs and drug delivery systems to treat these debilitating diseases. The Department administers two NIH-funded training grants, the Lung Biology and Pathobiology Training Program and the Pharmaceutical Sciences Training Program. Predoctoral trainees are supported by both training programs and postdoctoral trainees are supported by the Lung Biology and Pathobiology Training Program. The selected trainees draw on the knowledge of faculty preceptors from across multiple disciplines from several departments (both training programs) and across two colleges (Pharmacological Sciences Training Program) at the University. Each training grant has more than 30 preceptors, all of whom are independent investigators with strong research and training backgrounds. After the first year of graduate studies, students interested in a competitive predoctoral traineeship are asked to submit an application to the program of interest. Pre-doctoral trainees take courses and participate in symposiums and special seminars. United States citizens and permanent residents are eligible for positions on NIH-funded training grants. 
The Department participates in an integrated interdepartmental program for predoctoral candidates, Graduate Education in Medical Sciences (GEMS), which offers interdisciplinary coursework, flexibility in laboratory rotations, and choice of thesis advisors. Detailed information is available on the GEMS web site. Upon admission to the program, each student is awarded a stipend of $27,000 as a research assistant, a tuition and service fee waiver. With satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree, the student will continue to be supported throughout the training period. Graduate students may qualify for other financial aid, based on need, by filling out the FAFSA at the U.S. Department of Education Web site. International students are not required to submit evidence of financial support at the time of application. The department will provide a letter of departmental award should the applicant be admitted. For further information regarding graduate studies in pharmacology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, contact:Graduate Studies Coordinator |