{"id":16,"date":"2014-07-21T02:24:55","date_gmt":"2014-07-21T02:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/?page_id=16"},"modified":"2026-01-15T10:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:27:18","slug":"graduate-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/graduate-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor of Philosophy with Specialty in Pharmacology & Toxicology (Ph.D.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]PHARMACOLOGISTS are scientists with the knowledge to investigate disease mechanisms and to discover and develop drugs that may be useful in treating disease. The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology fosters multidisciplinary training leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. Students develop a broad foundation in cell biology, molecular biology, physiology, statistics, basic principles of pharmacology, cell signaling and the cellular and systemic actions of drugs, as well as statistics and research ethics. They develop skills in analysis and criticism of the scientific literature, oral presentation, write a scientific research proposal and publish in the scientific literature. PhD students will defend their dissertations in the fifth year.
\nThe PhD graduates will be prepared to work in teaching, research, private industry, non-profits and public service. Our mission is to train graduate students to become highly regarded scientists and scholars in the area of Pharmacology.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#2B3783″][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Program Description and Admission Requirements<\/span><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Ph.D. students must pass 45 course credits, pass a comprehensive qualifying examination, and complete dissertation research. Duration: Five (5) years. Required courses for the PhD include Biochemistry, Physiology, Pharmacology, Biostatistics, and Seminar.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#2B3783″][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Areas of Expertise<\/span><\/h2>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Molecular genetics, epidemiological and clinical Characteristics of Head and Neck Cancer<\/p>\n

3-D Printing as an Educational Biomedical Tool<\/p>\n

Molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in ALS and Alzheimer\u2019s<\/p>\n

Pharmacogenomics* Neuroactive properties of natural products**<\/p>\n

Chemical Carcinogenesis, Biomarkers, Toxicology and Risk Assessment<\/p>\n

Mitochondrial DNA repair and mitochondrial bioenergetics in aging and Huntington\u2019s Disease**<\/p>\n

Mechanisms of insulin resistance and cognitive impairment in HIV**<\/p>\n

Neuroprotection and Blood-Brain Barrier manipulation**<\/p>\n

Cardiac electrophysiology, Calcium handling and Arrhythmias<\/p>\n

Innovative Research and Educational Biomedical Tools Health Disparities<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

* External Collaboration<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Admissions Requirements:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Applicants must fulfill all admission requirements of the Graduate Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Campus.<\/li>\n
  2. Applicants should have completed a B.S. or B.A. degree with and undergraduate major in Biology, Chemistry of Pharmacy. Applicants with other majors may also be considered.<\/li>\n
  3. Applicants must have a minimum general grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.<\/li>\n
  4. Required undergraduate courses include calculus, general chemistry, organic chemistry, general physics, and general biology.<\/li>\n
  5. The deadline to apply for admission is March 1st.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Cost of Study<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Several forms of economic assistance are available, including university fellowships for research or teaching, as well as a variety of fellowships from federal and private research agencies.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” bg_type=”bg_color” bg_color_value=”#2B3783″][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

    Faculty<\/span><\/h2>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Yamil Gerena, Ph.D.
    \nyamil.gerena@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Sylvette Ayala-Pe\u00f1a, Ph.D.
    \n    sylvette.ayala@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Lakshya Bajaj, Ph.D.
    \n    lakshya.bajaj@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Emma Fern\u00e1ndez-Repollet, Ph.D.
    \n    e.fernandez@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Antonio H. Martins, MSc, Ph.D.
    \n    antonio.martins@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Jos\u00e9 G. Ortiz, Ph.D.
    \n    jose.ortiz@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Luz A. Silva Torres, Ph.D.
    \n    luz.silva@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    AD-HONOREM<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Adriana B\u00e1ez, Ph.D.
    \n    adriana.baez@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Ingrid M. Bonilla-Mercado, Ph.D.
    \n    ingrid.bonilla4@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Susan C. Corey, Ph.D.
    \n    susan.corey@upr.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

    Abraham Schwartz, Ph.D.
    \n    abraham.schwartz@up.edu<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]PHARMACOLOGISTS are scientists with the knowledge to investigate disease mechanisms and to discover and develop drugs that may be useful in treating disease. The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology fosters multidisciplinary training leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. Students develop a broad foundation in cell biology, molecular biology, physiology, statistics, basic principles…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1565,"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions\/1565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/md.rcm.upr.edu\/pharmacology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}