Doctor of Philososphy [Ph.D] [Pharmacy] From University of Iowa

The clinical pharmaceutical sciences area is designed for students interested in clinical research. The goal of the program is to advance the science of human pharmacology and therapeutics and to improve the safe, effective, and economical use of medications by patients. The program emphasizes the integration of clinical and basic research. It involves advanced studies of clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenetics, and the requirements for regulatory approval of new drugs.

The medicinal and natural products chemistry area educates students in the chemistry and biology of drug discovery. The program offers an interdisciplinary course of study and challenging opportunities to do fundamental drug-related research in the basic chemical and biological sciences. The program spans many aspects of the subdisciplines of chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology with a common theme of drug discovery. This includes extensive laboratory research aimed at testing a novel hypothesis, which is written and defended as a student's thesis.

Contemporary research geared toward drug discovery and design is the cornerstone of graduate study in this area. Students design a course of study, including core courses in synthesis, spectroscopy, enzymology, pharmacology, analytical chemistry, toxicology, and drug design as well as elective courses to maintain breadth and achieve depth in a research area.