Pharmacology Training Program

Predoctoral Training in Pharmacological Sciences

This Program broadens the research perspectives and skills of trainees interested in pharmacological research. It leverages the multidisciplinary biomedical research environment at UC Davis with its highly successful programs in drug development. One goal is to provide trainees with a detailed “inside look” at and understanding of drug development from target identification into clinic. The second goal is to provide students from Ph.D. programs outside the Pharmacology Ph.D. program training in the core concepts of Pharmacology including Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics. The Program fosters interactions among investigators and predoctoral fellows from different departments and Ph.D. programs that share an interest in pharmacological sciences. The Program increases understanding of and interest in the concepts, challenges, and opportunities in pharmacological research and therapeutics. It fosters collaborations between established research scientists in pharmacology and their future colleagues in basic and clinical research across academic, government and private sectors.

Students eligible to apply to the Pharmacology Training Program are in their first year of a graduate program listed below and are working on a thesis project related to pharmacology.

Other graduate groups can be considered on a case-by-case basis. The student must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and be in good academic standing. The Training Program is supported by the NIH T32 GM144303 grant and internal funds at UC Davis.

 

Program Statistics

Pre- Ph.D. degree

Trainees

Total trainees 2012-2023 67
Currently in program 13
Graduated 33
Still in graduate school 18
Time to degree 5 years
   

Post-graduation

 
Academic 12
Industry 16
Public Service 2

 

Program Directors

Donald M. Bers, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Pharmacology
Genome Building,
Room 3513
Davis, CA 95616-8636
Tel: 530-752-6517
E-mail: dmbers@ucdavis.edu

Johannes W. Hell, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Pharmacology
Tupper Hall Building
Room 2419D
Davis, CA 95616-8636
Phone: 530-752-6540
Email: jwhell@ucdavis.edu

School of Medicine

Bers, Donald M. Pharmacology
Bossuyt, Julie Pharmacology
Carraway, Kermit Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Chen-Izu, Ye Pharmacology
Chiamvimonvat, Nipavan Internal Medicine
Christiansen, Blaine Orthopedic Surgery
Cortopassi, Gino Molecular Biosciences
Diaz, Elva Pharmacology
Dickson, Eamonn Physiology and Membrane Biology
Gelli, Angie Pharmacology
Ghosh, Paramita M. Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Gray, John Neurology, Center for Neuroscience
Hell, Johannes W. Pharmacology
Lam, Kit Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Navedo, Manuel Pharmacology
Noctor, Stephen Psychiatry
Nolta, Jan Institute for Regenerative Cures
Pinkerton, Kent E. Pediatrics
Ripplinger, Crystal M Pharmacology
Rogawski, Mike Neurology
Sack, Jon Physiology and Membrane Biology
Santana, Fernando Physiology and Membrane Biology
Segal, David J. Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Tarantal, Alice Pediatrics
Tian, Lin Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Trainor, Brian C. Psychology
Vorobyov, Igor Physiology and Membrane Biology
Wulff, Heike Pharmacology
Xiang, Kevin Pharmacology
Yu, Aiming Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Zheng, Jie Physiology and Membrane Biology

 

School of Veterinary Medicine

Angelastro, James Molecular Biosciences
Chen, Xinbin Surgery/Radiology
Griffiths, Leigh Veterinary Medicine - Epidemiology
Havel, Peter J. Molecular Biosciences
Kynch, Kathy Molecular Biosciences
Lein, Pamela J. Molecular Biosciences
Pessah, Isaac N. Molecular Biosciences
Raybould, Helen Anatomy - Physiology
Van Winkle, Laura Anatomy - Physiology

 

College of Engineering

Panitch, Alyssa Biomedical Engineering
Simon, Scott Biomedical Engineering

 

College of Letters and Sciences

Ames, James Chemistry
Olson, David Chemistry

 

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Hammock, Bruce Entomology

 

College of Biological Sciences

Bodine, Sue C. Neurology/Physiology
Goldman, Mark S. Neurology/Physiology
Huising, Mark Neurology/Physiology
Zito, Karen Neurology/Physiology

School of Medicine

Bers, Donald M. Pharmacology
Gorin, Fredric Neurology, School of Veterinary Medicine
Hell, Johannes W. Pharmacology
Lam, Kit Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Navedo, Manuel F. Pharmacology
Rogawski, Mike Neurology
Wulff, Heike Pharmacology

 

School of Veterinary Medicine

Lein, Pamela J. Molecular Biosciences
Pessah, Isaac N. Molecular Biosciences

Current Trainees

 

Ruben Berumen

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year Entered 2022, Projected 2027

Research Project Title: "Role of Norepinephrine-induced Phosphorylation of GluA1 in Learning and Attention"

Trainer: Johannes Hell

 

Trey Brasher

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year Entered 2022, Projected 2027

Research Project Title: "Synthesis and Evaluation of Putative Anti-Parkinson’s 5HT-2A Partial Agonists: Conformationally Constrained Derivatization of Phenethylamine Ariadne"

Trainer: Mark Mascal

 

Noemi Castro

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology 2020, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "Engaging lysosome-dependent cell death to target therapy-resistant breast cancer cells"

Trainer: Kermit Carraway

 

Nathan Cook

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Year Entered 2022, Projected 2027

Research Project Title: "Functional Beta Cell heterogeneity and Diabetes"

Trainer: Mark Huising

 

Joseph Cronin

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology 2021, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "Bioengineering Novel Humanized RNA-let-7 Prodrugs to Modulate ADME Gene Expression, Anticancer Drug Exposure, and Therapeutic Outcomes"

Trainer: Aiming Yu

 

Tory Edwards

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology 2021, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "Molecular targets of empagliflozin in diabetic and failing cardiomyocytes"

Trainer: Don Bers

 

Geir Hareland

Ph.D., Biophysics, Year Entered 2022, Projected 2027

Research Project Title: "Genetically-encoded Sodium Channel Modulators for Treatment of Neuropathic Pain"

Trainer: Jon Sack and Vladamir Yarov-Yarovoy

 

Ulrik Mjaaseth

Ph.D., Nutritional Biology, Year Entered 2021, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "Src Homology 2 Containing Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 2’s (SHP2) Expression in Alzheimer’s Disease and its Potential as a Therapeutic Target"

Trainer: Fawaz Haj

 

Lily Mott

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular, Integrative Physiology

Research Project Title: "Illuminating cellular signaling in the intact heart"

Trainer: Crystal Ripplinger

 

Bryan Nguyen

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering 2021, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "Engineered Blood-Brain Barrier on a Chip Model to Study Extracellular Vesicle Transport Mechanisms for Treating Glioblastoma"

Trainer: Randy Carney

 

Sophia Salbato

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology, Year Entered 2022, Projected 2027

Research Project Title: “Impact of e-cigarette vapor on vascular cAMP signaling and its functional consequences"

Trainer: Madeline Nieves-Cintron

 

Anais Saunders

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year Entered 2021, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "A Functional Genetic Screen to Identify APR-246 Rescuable TP53 Mutants"

Trainer: Jeremy Chien

 

Rahaf Shishani

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology, Year Entered 2021, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: "A Novel Role for 14-3-3-ζ in Regulating Islet Cell Crosstalk"

Trainer: Bethany Cummings

 

Past TraineesFront row, left to right: Sami O’Dwyer, Sam Tucci, Maria Prada, Sam Francis Stuart, Anastasia Berg
Back row, left to right: Sean Kodani, Peter Deng, Joe Jilek, Leif Anderson, Brandon Pressly, Glyn Noguchi

Past TraineesLeft to Right: Maria Prada, Leif Anderson, Sean Kodani, Samantha Tucci, Michelle Guignet, Samantha Stuart, Kim Truong, Anna Kreutz, Alejandro Castaneda, Ian Kimball

Past TraineesLeft to Right: Anna Kreutz, Alejandro Castaneda, Maria Prada, Brad Hobson, Sucheta Mukherjee, Choung Nguyen (Not pictured: Ian Kimball and Kim Truong)

Past TraineesLeft to Right: Steven Vito, Brandon Brown, Nicole De Jesus, Brad Hobson, Sucheta Mukherjee, Anthony Herren, Sunil Sahdeo, Peter Henderson

Leif Anderson

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year entered 2012, Graduated Fall 2018

Research Project Title: “Engineering the innate immune response to combat Staphaureus infection”

Trainer: Scott Simon

 

Eden Barragan

Ph.D., Neuroscience, Year entered 2015, Graduated Fall 2021

Research Project Title: “Genetic Manipulation of the NMDA receptor Co-agonist Site”

Trainer: John Gray

Anastasia Berg

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Year entered 2014, Graduated Summer 2020

Research Project Title: “Targeting apoptosis-resistant breast cancer stem cells with an amiloride derivative”

Trainer: Kermit Carraway

 

Brandon Brown

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2011, Graduated Winter 2015

Research Project Title: “The Design of Anti-Hypertensive KCa3.1 Activators Modulating the EDH Pathway and Their Effects on the Immune System”

Trainer: Heike Wulff

 

Alejandro Castaneda

Ph.D., Immunology, Year entered 2011, Graduated Fall 2016

Research Project Title: ”Assessing the use of Dendritic Cell Inhibitors to Reduce Allergic Sensitization and Particulate Matter Toxicity”

Trainer: Kent Pinkerton

 

John Dawson

Ph.D., Biophysics, Year Entered 2017, Graduated Spring 2022

Research Project Title: "In search of molecular mechanisms for drug-induced cardiac arrhythmias via atomistic simulations"

Trainer: Igor Vorobyov

 

Nicole De Jesus

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year entered 2010, Graduated Fall 2015

Research Project Title: “The Role of Inflammation in Electrophysiological Remodeling and Arrhythmogenesis Following Myocardial Infarction”

Trainer: Crystal Ripplinger

 

Peter Deng

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2014, Graduated Fall 2020

Research Project Title: “Nanoparticle delivery of TALEs in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington’s disease”

Trainer: David Segal

 

Cyrrus Espino

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 2020, Projected 2025

Research Project Title: “The role of NaVβ4 in proprioceptor excitability and behavior”

Trainer: Theanne Griffth

 

Juan Flores

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Year Entered 2017, Projected 2022

Research Project Title: "Mechanisms of Saturation of LTP at Single Dendritic Spines."

Trainer: Karen Zito

 

Samantha Francis Stuart

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2014, Graduated Summer 2019

Research Project Title: “The Role of TSPO and Myocardial Inflammation in Incidence of Cardiac Arrhythmia”

Trainer: Crystal Ripplinger

 

Chase Garcia

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 2019, Projected 2023

Research Project Title: "Testing the Efficacy of Pharmacologic Shc Inhibitors as Insulin Sensitizers for Treating Alzheimer's Disease"

Trainer: Gino Cortopassi

 

Amanda Guevara

Ph.D., Molecular, Cell and Integrative Physiology, Year entered 2018, Year Projected 2023

Research Project Title: "Nicotine Exposure and Cardiac Arrhythmia"

Trainer: Crystal Ripplinger

 

Michelle Guignet

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2014, Graduated Fall 2019

Research Project Title: “The effect of the small anti-apoptotic molecule P7C3-A20 on neurodegeneration following acute organophosphate intoxication with DFP”

Trainer: Pamela Lein

 

Peter Henderson

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2011, Graduated Winter 2017

Research Project Title: “How the Tyrosine Kinases Pyk2 and Src are Involved in the Regulation of Cav1.2 Activity by PKC”

Trainer: Johannes Hell

 

Anthony Herren

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Year entered 2009, Graduated Winter 2015

Research Project Title: “CaMKII Based Regulation of the Cardiac Voltage Gated Na+ Channel”

Trainer: Donald Bers

 

Brad Hobson

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2011, Graduated Fall 2018

Research Project Title: “Investigating the Anti-Inflammatory Compound TRAM-34 as Neuroprotective in Acute Organophosphate Intoxication”

Trainer: Pamela Lein

 

Ryan Hogans

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 2020, Projected 2025

Research Project Title: “The role of senescent endothelial cell extracellular vesicles in blood-brain barrier dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease”

Trainer: Pam Lein

 

Jessica Huang

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Year entered 2016, Graduated Spring 2022

Research Project Title: “The role of somatostatin in maintaining beta cell identity and function”

Trainer: Mark Huising

 

Ariel Jacobi

Ph.D., Neuroscience, Year Entered 2019, Projected 2023

Research Project Title: "Functional Characterization of the AMPAR-Cav1.2 Interaction"

Trainer: Johannes Hell

 

Joseph Jilek

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2014, Graduated Summer 2018

Research Project Title: “Harnessing microRNA for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapy: Elucidating Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Novel Bioengineered miRNA Prodrugs”

Trainer: Aiming Yu

 

Ian Kimball

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Year entered 2013, Graduated Spring 2021

Research Project Title: “Structure-function relationship of an endogenous modulator of sodium channel pharmacology”

Trainer: Jon Sack

 

Sean Kodani

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2012, Graduated Winter 2018

Research Project Title: “Dual sEH/FAAH Inhibition as a Therapeutic Approach for Targeting Hepatic Fibrosis”

Trainer: Bruce Hammock

 

Anna Kreutz

Ph.D., Neuroscience, Year entered 2012, Graduated Spring 2018

Research Project Title: ”Pharmacological attenuation of maternal immune activation mediated via microglia in the developing neocortex”

Trainer: Stephen Noctor

 

Garreck H. Lenz

Ph.D., Neuroscience, Year Entered 2019, Projected 2024

Research Project Title: "Pharmacological characterization of kappa/mu opioid receptor heterodimer activity using a novel kappa-opioid receptor activity sensor"

Trainer: Jennifer Whistler

 

Joseph Martinez

Ph.D., Neuroscience, Year Entered 2016, Graduated Summer 2022

Research Project Title: "The Role of β2-Adrenergic Receptors in the Regulation of α-synuclein expression in Parkinson’s disease"

Trainer: Yang Kevin Xiang

 

Emily Misnick

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year entered 2016, Awarded Masters of Science Degree Spring 2019

Research Project Title: “Vascular regeneration after vessel injury by endothelial cell recruitment with antiplatelet and antithrombotic collagen-binding molecule LXW7-DS-SILY”

Trainer: Alyssa Panitch

 

Sucheta Mukherjee

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2009, Graduated Fall 2015

Research Project Title: “Evaluating MUS81-EME1 as a Novel Anti-Cancer Therapeutic Target”

Trainer: Wolf-Dietrich Heyer

 

Kaitlin Murray

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology, Year entered 2018, Year Projected 2023

Research Project Title: “Deciphering the functional afferent signaling pathways in neuro-immune communication and evaluating the therapeutic potential compared to efferent pathway stimulation"

Trainer: Colin Reardon

 

Joshua Nasburg

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year Entered 2019, Year Projected 2024

Research Project Title: "Pharmacological Modulation of the Calcium-activated K+ Channel KCa3.1 via Small Molecules and Biologics"

Trainer: Heike Wulff

 

Chuong Nguyen

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2012, Graduated Fall 2018

Research Project Title: “Effects of Serotonin Transporter Inhibition on Regenerative Ability of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Wound Healing”

Trainer: Rivkah Isseroff

 

Glyn Noguchi

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Year entered 2015, Graduated Fall 2021

Research Project Title: “Evaluating the pancreatic delta cell as a diabetic control center”

Trainer: Mark Huising

 

Samantha O’Dwyer

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2015, Graduated Spring 2020

Research Project Title: “The physiological implications of BIN1 clustering L-type CaV1.2 channels in vascular smooth muscle”

Trainer: Luis Santana

 

Noah Pacifici

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year Entered 2017, Graduated Summer 2022

Research Project Title: "Unraveling the mysteries of vomocytosis for development of a lymph node-targeting microparticle vaccine"

Trainer: Jamal Lewis

 

Maria Paz Prada

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2013, Graduated Fall 2018

Research Project Title: ”P2Y11-dependent mechanisms of diabetic vascular dysfunction”

Trainer: Manuel Navedo

 

Brandon Pressly

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2015, Graduated Spring 2020

Research Project Title: “Design of a K2P1 Channel Inhibitor for Hypokalemia-associated Arrhythmia”

Trainer: Heike Wulff

 

Sunil Sahdeo

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2012, Graduated Spring 2014

Research Project Title: “Discovery and characterization of compounds that rescue Friedreich’s Ataxia biochemical defects in vitro and in vivo”

Trainer: Gino Cortopassi

 

Sierra Schreiber

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 2020, Projected 2025

Research Project Title: “Establishing a Pulmonary Neuroimmune Pathway”

Trainer: Colin Reardon

 

Brandon Selz

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 2020, Projected 2025

Research Project Title: “GPCR Endocytosis Mediates Shuttling of Phosphodiesterase to Modulate Nuclear cAMP Signaling and Gene Expression”

Trainer: Kevin Xiang

 

Diana Sernas

Ph.D., Integrative Genetics and Genomics, Year Entered 2019, Projected 2024

Research Project Title: "Harnessing two-component signaling systems for targeted therapeutics and diagnostics in mammalian cells"

Trainer: Sean Collin

 

Shahin Shams

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year entered 2018, Graduated Winter 2023

Research Project Title: "Localized activation of a robust proangiogenic cascade via Cas9 encapsulating lentivectors"

Trainer: Eduardo Silva

 

Landon Sims

Ph.D., Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 2020, Projected 2025

Research Project Title: “Pharmacologic FGF21 in the Treatment of Atherosclerosis Pathogenesis”

Trainer: Karen Ryan

 

Heather Spooner

Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Year Entered 2019, Projected 2024

Research Project Title: "BIN1 upregulation disrupts CaV1.2 trafficking and underlies adrenergic hypo-responsivity in the aging heart"

Trainer: Rose Dixon

 

Scott Tiscione

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2016, Graduated Spring 2020

Research Project Title: “Misregulation of store-operated calcium entry in a human neurodegenerative disorder”

Trainer: Eamonn Dickson

 

Nikki Tjahjono

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year Entered 2019, Projected 2024

Research Project Title: "A Novel Imaging Platform for Monitoring Drug-Modulated Synaptic Plasticity"

Trainer: Lin Tian

 

Gavin Traber

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology 2020, Projected 2025

Research Project Title: “Assessment of Novel Bioengineered MiR-7-5p Prodrug for the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer”

Trainer: Aiming Yu

 

Kim Truong

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2012, Graduated Winter 2019

Research Project Title: ”Do astrocytes mitigate or promote tetramethylenedisulfotetramine-triggered excitotoxicity and neuropathology?”

Trainer: Isaac Pessah

 

Allen Tu

Ph.D., Immunology, Entered 2019, Projected 2024

Research Project Title: "Microparticle-mediated generation of tolerogenic dendritic cells to induce antigen-specific tolerance in Rheumatoid Arthritis"

Trainer: Jamal Lewis

 

Samantha Tucci

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Year entered 2014, Graduated Fall 2018

Research Project Title: “Locally activated novel nanotherapeutics in the treatment of pancreatic cancer”

Trainer: Katherine Ferrara

 

Max Vargas

Ph.D., Neuroscience, Year Entered 2017, Graduated Spring 2023

Research Project Title: "How steroid hormones influence neural plasticity"

Trainer: David Olson

 

Stephen Vito

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2009, Awarded Masters of Science Degree Fall 2014

Research Project Title: “Investigation of Potential Therapeutic Strategies to Mitigate Toxicity Induced by the Convulsant Poison Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine”

Trainer: Bruce Hammock

 

Taylor Voelker

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxicology, Year entered 2018, Graduated Winter 2023

Research Project Title: "Phosphoinositide regulation of Cav1.2 L-type calcium channel and EC-coupling in the heart"

Trainer: Rose Dixon

 

Gillian Wright

Ph.D., Microbiology 2020, Projected 2026

Research Project Title: “Butyrate supplementation prevents microbiota-gut-brain axis deficits in pediatric IBD”

Trainer: Melanie Gareau

 

Pharmacology Seminar Series Schedule

Chalk Talks are First Tuesdays of the Month as Scheduled by Trainees

 

Retreat

Monday, September 25, 2023 - Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center

Trainees will participate in the following courses and activities:

  1. Students that have not taken PTX 201 or an equivalent basic graduate level pharmacology course covering pharmacokinetics/dynamics will be offered custom-tailored four two-hour modules on this topic;
  2. Enrollment in the graduate-level course Drug Discovery and Development (PHA 207, 3 credits), unless trainee can show evidence of completion of an analogous course;
  3. Participation in the interactive course Problem Solving in Pharmacology (PHA205, 1 credit; each Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarter for two years);
  4. Attendance of the monthly seminar series Frontiers in Pharmacology and the monthly PTX Seminars series;
  5. Participation in a monthly chalk talk during which trainees discuss their research advances and challenges;
  6. Participation in two clinical case study discussions (each summer quarter);
  7. Participation in one luncheon meeting in Winter and two meetings in Summer to discuss T32-related issues and to continue training in Responsible Conduct in Research;
  8. Participation in the annual retreat;
  9. Students that have not taken the general UC Davis Responsible Conduct in Research or an equivalent course when admitted to the program must do so within their first year in this Training Program.

Students and their faculty trainers need to commit to participate in this program for 2 years (including participation in Problem Solving in Drug Development, the once-a-month seminar, monthly chalk talks, and the yearly retreats).

The Pharmacology Training Program Predoctoral trainee positions will be available for one year periods, from July 1 to June 30. This fellowship includes a yearly stipend, a small allowance for trainee-related expenses, and partial student fees. The appointment will be renewed for a second year if the student has made good progress during the first year and if sufficient funds are available.

Applications will be reviewed on an annual basis by a committee appointed by the Program Director. The committee typically consists of members of the Pharmacology Training Grant Executive Committee. Selection is based on academic performance in undergraduate and graduate school, GRE scores, the relevance of the trainee’s proposed research and career goals to pharmacology, and the trainee’s potential to benefit from and contribute to the pharmacology training program.

Predoctoral trainee positions will be available starting July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. This predoctoral fellowship includes a yearly stipend, anticipated to be around $26,000, a small allowance for trainee-related expenses, and covers all of the expected fees. This fellowship will be renewed for a second year if progress during the first year is appropriate. The number of slots awarded will be subject to NIH funding received for 2023-2024. Top priority will be given to excellent students, who are currently in their first year of a graduate program affiliated with the Pharmacology T32 (Pharmacology and Toxicology; Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology; Neuroscience; Biomedical Engineering) at the time of application. Student should be working on a thesis project related to pharmacology. Applicants from other graduate groups will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The student must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and in good academic standing.

Requirements for students selected for this position include:

  1. Participation in the graduate course PHA207: Drug Discovery and Development (3 credits, 1 quarter). Students that have not taken PTX 201 or an equivalent course covering principles of pharmacokinetics/dynamics as a prerequisite to PHA207 will be offered a supplementary 8 hour module on this topic in the Fall Quarter.
  2. Participation in the interactive course PHA205: Problem Solving in Pharmacology (Fall, Winter and Spring quarters; 1 credit each quarter);
  3. Participation in a once-a-month Frontiers in Pharmacology seminar;
  4. Participation in a monthly chalk talk during which trainees discuss their research advances and challenges;
  5. Participation in an annual retreat;
  6. Participation in 3-4 luncheon meetings to discuss programmatic aspects, rigor and reproducibility and responsible conduct in research
  7. Participation in clinical discussion meetings and/or shadowing physicians in areas relevant to the trainees research interests (about 2 per year);
  8. Students and their faculty trainers are expected to commit to participate in this program for 4-6 years (i.e., until graduation including participation in once-a-month seminars, yearly retreats) to create a program community and follow newest NIH/NIGMS guidelines for T32 programs.
  9. Annually going over an Individual Development Plan (IDP) with the thesis advisor and T32 mentor,
  10. After rotating off the funded period trainees need to continue to participate in the program by attending annual retreats and weekly seminars in Pharmacology.

Students should also expect to be contacted on a yearly basis after their time on the program has ended. The training program administrator will request updates on their status of their career, degree, responsible conduct in research training and potentially other details, as mandated by NIH.

Requirements for the Ph.D. advisors of students selected for this position (new in 2020):

  1. Participation in at least 4 training sessions on mentoring, at least two in year 1 (e.g., https://grad.ucdavis.edu/resources/mentoring/mentoring-workshops-and-seminars)
  2. Participation in the luncheons with trainees on programmatic aspects, rigor and reproducibility and responsible conduct in research

A complete application consists of the following uploaded to the following Application Portal:

Pharmacology T32 Application Portal-2023

  1. The applicant's biographical sketch or CV.
  2. A concise plan (2-3 pages) describing the proposed doctoral dissertation research, its relevance to pharmacology and the applicant's career goals.
  3. A copy of the applicant's graduate and undergraduate academic records and GRE scores.
  4. A statement indicating that both the trainee and the training faculty mentor agree to comply with the requirements of the pharmacology training program including regular participation in the seminars, chalk talks and retreat not only during but also after the period of active funding support while the trainee is matriculated as full-time graduate students at UC Davis.
  5. Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a training faculty who has agreed to mentor the applicant's thesis research. The other two are preferably also from UC Davis faculty. Please provide your referee with the following link to upload their Letter of Recommendation:
    Faculty Letter of Recommendation Link »

To assure full consideration, applications should be received by Monday, June 26, 2023 before midnight.

Applications will be reviewed by the Pharmacology Training Grant Selection and Evaluation Committee. Selection is based on academic performance in graduate school, the relevance of the applicant's proposed research and career goals to pharmacology, the potential of the applicant to benefit from and contribute to the pharmacology training program, and the quality the research environment of the trainee offers, including qualification and dedication of the Ph.D. advisor and his or her commitment to this training program. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or the acting program administrators, Brittany C Kolb (bckolb@ucdavis.edu) and Fred Singh (fsingh@ucdavis.edu).

UC Davis has a strong multidisciplinary and collaborative environment in research and training related to this Pharmacology Training Program (PTP). The 59 Training Faculty are from 22 departments in 6 colleges, where extensive collaborative interaction exist (e.g. many are members of the Pharmacology-Toxicology (PTX) Graduate Group, now in its 37th year). The PTP includes faculty trainers that smoothly span colleges, academic departments and centers.

The PTP objective is to provide predoctoral trainees with the core educational and research training required for translating pre-clinical mechanistic therapeutic discoveries into clinical trials. All of the educational components necessary for this translation PTP are provided by collaborative teaching and training. The training faculty are well-funded with ongoing disease-oriented and therapeutic discovery projects at UC Davis and some have pharmaceutical industry partners. Their foci range from identifying novel therapeutic molecular targets, making or identifying therapeutic molecules, novel developing cell targeting strategies, immune-mediated, and stem cell pre-clinical therapeutics, to clinical trials being conducted at the UC Davis NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), NIH-designated Cancer Center, and within the UC Davis Health.

The very rich and collaborative overall science environment at UC Davis, powerful and numerous state-of-the-art core facilities and centers will provide trainees with outstanding research opportunities (e.g. spanning from Chemistry’s emphasis on pharmaceutical chemistry, imaging molecules (from single molecule to in vivo), genomics, molecular/system modeling, stem cell center, unique animal models (nationally recognized mouse center, Veterinary School and Primate Center) and CTSC.

The disease targets of the training faculty cover a broad spectrum, but include strength in cardiovascular, neurosciences, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. All PTP trainees will develop a solid foundation in both modern physiology and pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotoxicology, drug metabolism, drug discovery and translation, biostatistics and responsible conduct of research. The PTP also provides training in skills that promote professional development. Previous trainees of the training faculty have had highly successful careers in both academia and industry. This PTP will provide an exciting training opportunity for motivated students and fellows in translational pre-clinical therapeutics.

Professional Development and Publications Links for Graduate Students