The graduate programs offered by the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences provide instruction and research training in diverse aspects of drug action including drug discovery to various elements of drug evaluation. These subjects are examined at the molecular, genomic, biochemical, biological, and clinical levels through an interdisciplinary curriculum that is individualized to the needs of each incoming student. The program includes as laboratory and clinical research in the areas of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacometrics, pharmacogenomics, dosage form design, physiochemical and biological aspects of drug action, drug metabolism, and drug toxicity.

• Candidates for admission must typically have:
  • A Bachelor's or Master's Degree in pharmacy, biochemistry, chemistry, biology, engineering or another science.
  • A high grade-point average.
  • A demonstrated proficiency in fundamental scientific areas including organic and physical chemistry, biochemistry, biology, and mathematics.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test: Submission of GRE scores for the general examination is mandatory for all applicants.
• The overall quality point average (QPA): Special attention is placed on the grades achieved in basic science courses relevant to our program; e.g., chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology and mathematics. Additionally, the undergraduate institution where the courses were taken by the applicant is considered. The department recognizes that differences in course content and levels of excellence exist at different institutions of higher learning.
• Research Experience: Prior research experience and co-authorship in scientific publications are considered favorably in the admission process.
• For international applicants: the ability of the student to communicate in English. The University requires a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (213 for the computer-based exam) for international applicants whose first language is not English. All international graduate students who have been awarded graduate assistantships must also demonstrate their oral English language proficiency by taking the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) Test upon arrival.
• Letters of recommendation: Letters from faculty knowledgeable of the student's ability and capability are extremely important. In these letters we seek information about the student's experience in laboratory research, ability to communicate, creativity of the individual, and intangibles in the student's academic performance.

• All qualified applicants for the Ph.D. program are automatically considered for graduate stipend support and tuition scholarships, and no separate application is required. The graduate stipend in the Fall Semester of 2004 will be set at the prevailing pre-doctoral fellowship rate of the National Institutes of Health. Students receiving a graduate stipend are also provided with tuition scholarships (in other words, students do not have to pay tuition during the program, pending satisfactory academic progress). Occasionally (but rarely), a student may be admitted into our Ph.D. program without departmental stipend support.
• M.S. Students are not eligible for departmental stipends, although special industrial fellowships are available for the tracks in Pharmacometrics. These fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis.
• Most stipends and fellowships are available beginning September 1 of each academic years. The Department does not encourage entry into the program during the Spring semester, since many course sequences begin in the Fall, and new stipend/fellowship openings are generally not available to begin in the Spring.

V. Course Descriptions (Semester credits in parenthesis):

Click here to go to the UB catalog for descriptions of courses below the graduate '500' level.

• PHC500: Basic Drug Development (2): Fung
  Introductory graduate course on the fundamental concepts of drug formulation and development, including discussions of the crucial physicochemical and biopharmaceutical characteristics necessary for drug absorption.
• PHC502: Seminar on Selected Pharmaceutics Topics (1-3) Staff
  Methods of utilizing the literature relating to the Pharmaceutical Sciences and discussion of recent developments in the field.
• PHC503: Surgery Techniques for Pharmacokinetics (2) Soda
  Laboratory experience in animal handling, cannulation techniques and tissue processing for pharmacokinetic studies. One three-hour laboratory session each week.
• PHC504: Computational Basis of Pharmacometrics (2) Krzyzanski
  Examination of basic mathematical components for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis: numerical algorithms, statistical methods, mathematical models and computer programing.
• PHC507: Principles of Biological Transport (2) Ramanathan
  This graduate course covers the physicochemical and biomolecular concepts underlying transport in biological systems from a multidisciplinary perspective. The physicochemical and the biomolecular concepts underlying transport in biological systems are analyzed. The experimental and mathematical analysis of passive, facilitated, active and vesicular transport and the impact of transporters and transport systems on the disposition and metabolic fate of their substrates is discussed.
• PHC508: Drug Delivery: Principles and Applications (2) Straubinger
  A study at the advanced level of the physical and biological principles which apply to the design, development and evaluation of drug delivery systems. Specific examples of modern systems such as transdermal preparations, liposomes, implants, monoclonal antibodies, and those involving site-targeting will be discussed.
• PHC511: Research Proposal (1) Staff
  Preparation of one NIH-type written proposal outlining a studentís proposed dissertation research. This proposal must be orally defended by the student before the student's thesis committee members.
• PHC531: Introduction to Pharmacokinetics and Biopharmaceutics 1 (4) Morris
  Introductory graduate course on the factors influencing the absorption, distribution, excretion and metabolism of drugs. Topics include compartmental/noncompartmental pharmacokinetics, renal clearance, hepatc clearance, protein binding and drug dosage regimen design and bioavailability and bioequivalence.
• PHC540: Contemporary Methods in the Pharmaceutical Sciences: I-Biophysical Approaches (2) Balasubramanian
  This course is an introductory overview of selected bio-physical techniques which are important in the formulation and biophysical, physical and chemical characterization of biotechnology protein drugs.
• PHC541: : Contemporary Methods in the Pharmaceutical Sciences: II- Cell Culture Techniques (1) Boje
  This course is an introductory overview of selected cell culture techniques and pharmaceutical applications which represent important research and screening tools for pharmaceutical research.
• PHC542: : Contemporary Methods in the Pharmaceutical Sciences: III- Quantitative RNA Approaches (1) Boje
  This course is an introductory overview of quantitative RNA techniques which is important for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of gene expression.
• PHC543: Molecular Genetic Methodologies for Pharmaceutical Sciences (1) D. Brazeau
  This course consists of lectures and laboratories designed to introduce the theory and basic tools used in molecular biology. The course goal is to give students hands-on experience with a number of the techniques used in molecular biology as they are applied in the pharmaceutical sciences. The lectures will provide much of the theory that underlies these techniques.
• PHC607: Intermediate Pharmacokinetics (3) Balthasar
  This course covers the theoretical development of the major methods, models, and equations used in pharmacokinetics with their physicochemical and physiological assumptions and limitations. It employs current graphical and computer methods of applying pharmacokinetics to analysis of experimental and clinical data; and its evaluates literature and approaches of design of studies and recovery of essential drug parameters.
• PHC608: Advanced Pharmacokinetics (2) Jusko
  The rigorous theoretical development and application of kinetics and related mathematical and computer techniques to the study of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion presented at an advanced level.
• PHC609: Advanced Pharmacodynamics (2) Jusko
  A survey of the theoretical basis, types of models, methods of data analysis, and diverse applications of modeling the time-course of pharmacologic responses.
• PHC613/614: Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar (1.1) Staff
  Guidance in research in connection with graduate thesis. May be taken more than once for credit.
• PHC630: Drug Metabolism and Disposition (2) Morris
  A study of the metabolism and disposition of drugs and drug metabolites. Topics include indepth discussions of Phase I and II biotransformation pathways, pharmacogenetics, biotransformation and toxicity, in vitro/in vivo techniques for evaluating drug metabolism and scale-up of drug metabolism data.

VI. Facilities and Resources:

Most departmental facilities are located on the fifth floor of the Cooke-Hochstetter Complex, a relatively new building consisting mainly of teaching and research laboratories for the pharmaceutical sciences and biology. The department has a total of 28 laboratories assigned to its faculty members on the North Campus, plus conference rooms, glass washing room, animals holding room, walk-in cold room, and individual offices. Also located in the building complex are the University Animal Facilities, including several surgical laboratories, under the direction of a veterinarian and with a full-time staff of several experienced technical personnel.

Research equipment in the department includes liquid chromatography/mass spectrophometers, ultracentrifuges; scintillation counters; gamma counter; high performance liquid chromatographs; spectrophotometers, including gas chromatographs, physiographs; computer-aided imaging equipment; cell culture facilities; fluorescent and uv/visible plate readers; phosphoimager; peptide synthesizer, fluorescence and circular dichroism spectrometers, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis instrumentation, and the usual standard research equipment. There is also a graduate student computer facility in the department. (This list does not include instruments used primarily for undergraduate instruction.) Two faculty members (Drs. Straubinger and Balasubramanian) serve as directors of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Instrumentation Facility.

The department recently established a Pharmaceutical Genetics Laboratory (PGL). The PGL assists faculty and graduate students in the School of Pharmacy take advantage of the wide array of molecular genetic techniques currently available to address questions concerning gene expression, bioinformatics and genotyping. In this capacity the PGL also provides extensive education and training reflecting the latest genetic technologies available. The laboratory has all the necessary equipment for the isolation and characterization of DNA/RNA/mRNA including microcentrifuges, refrigerators, freezers, gel electrophoresis equipment, DNA/RNA GeneQuant spectrophotometer, and PCR thermocyclers (3, one thermocycler has a gradient block). For microarray studies the laboratory has a separate room (165 sq ft), certified for isotope use with a hybridization oven, incubators, refrigerator, and centrifuge. The laboratory has a NEN large-format phosphoimager and a multiplex quantitative PCR system (Mx4000TM Stratagene) for the real-time quantitative measurement of PCR products.

The University is served by a comprehensive health sciences library, a modern computer center, and a well-equipped instrument shop. The departments of the basic health schools of medicine and pharmacy, together with the University-affiliated teaching hospitals and the Roswell Park Memorial Institute (one of the largest cancer research institutes in the world) provide outstanding opportunities for professional consultation and collaboration.

VII. Application Deadline: Click here for dates.

All applications must be submitted online via www.pharmaceutics.buffalo.edu/admissions.

To encourage applications from U.S. citizens and permanent residents, a fund has been established to pay the application fee of these applicants. To qualify, please inquire through Dr. Joseph Balthasar.

VIII. Inquiries

Ph.D. Program

MS. Programs

IX. Status of Your Application:

Inquiries should be directed to:

Linda Janos
Graduate Admission Office
ljanos@acsu.buffalo.edu