NIGMS Awards Four Institutions to Support Training in
Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology 

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) will fund four short course workshops to support training in integrative and organ systems pharmacology. These programs recognize the importance of studies using intact organ systems and in vivo models in the conduct of research.  The Award is made to a lead institution from among a consortium of institutions that will play a collaborative role in teaching and research interactions among participants.  The lead institutions receiving the R25 Education Project award, include: 

Michigan State University 

The Michigan State University Short Course in Integrative and Organ System Pharmacology will be held 3-15 August 2008 in East Lansing, MI. The course will be an intensive twelve day experience for 12-14 students. The course is built around three cornerstones: hands-on laboratory exercises, laboratory demonstrations, and interactive lectures which will include animal models of disease, practical knowledge in integrative sciences, and current topics in pharmacology and toxicology. The content will include autonomic, renal, gastrointestinal, computer modeling, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuropharmacology. Faculty members will be drawn from Michigan State University, Pfizer, DataSciences, and six other institutions and companies.

University of California at San Diego (co-funded with NIMH) 

UCSD will offer an intensive three-week summer course in Systems Pharmacology and Translational Biology for up to 20 participants.  The course will focus on the central nervous system, on the cardiovascular system and its autonomic regulation, and on recent techniques for imaging organ function.  The Course will stress basic principles of pharmacology and quantitative analysis of data.  Additionally, the course will provide training in a variety of mouse imaging techniques, use of radiopharmaceuticals and interpretation of imaging data, train participants in the assessment of phenotype in genetically altered animals, familiarize participants with the use of animal and organ systems in the development of new drugs, provide instruction and experience in the responsible and ethical conduct of research and use of animal subjects, provide opportunities to analyze and present laboratory findings stressing quantitative methods and basic principles of pharmacology, and establish long-term tracking of and communication with and amongst participants.  The Course Faculty are UCSD professors in the School of Medicine and adjunct faculty from San Diego’s biotech and pharmaceutical industries.  For further information contact: Diana Platero (dplatero@ucsd.edu). http://pharmacology.ucsd.edu/Other_Academic_Programs/summer.asp

University of Nebraska Medical Center

An Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology Short Course will be held in Omaha, NE June 2-13, 2008. The course consists of a two-week intensive experience for 12 students followed by an optional internship. The course has cardiovascular and neuropharmacology emphases, and it includes lectures, demonstrations and an abundance of laboratory exercises designed to give the participants significant hands-on experience with the effect of drugs on organ systems and intact conscious animal models. These models will include dogs and rats instrumented to determine cardiovascular parameters, the Langendorff perfused heart and behavioral paradigms in rats and mice. The instruction will be provided by faculty from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University Medical Center, University of Kansas Medical Center and Abbott Laboratories.  For additional information contact Diane Frost, telephone: 402-559-5145 or toll-free 877-832-6924 or visit  http://unmc.edu/iosp .

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Pharmacy presents "An Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology Short Course" held in Chapel Hill, NC. The course is intended for students of various levels (undergraduate, graduate, medical, pharmacy, etc.) as well as those in industry and government who seek to enhance their pre-clinical laboratory skills and consists of a two-week intensive experience for 30 students. The course emphasizes routine rodent procedures (gavage, injection, cannulation), isolated and in situ perfused organ systems (liver, kidney, intestine, brain) and neuropharmacology (antinocioception, seizure threshold, brain microdialysis).  Learning experiences will include lectures, demonstrations and intensive laboratory exercises designed to give the participants significant hands-on experience with the effect of drugs on organ systems and intact conscious animal models.  These models will include mainly mice and rats along with some introduction to higher animal models (dogs, pig and nonhuman primates). The instruction will be provided by faculty from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Long Island University and Wake Forest University.  For additional information contact: Adam M. Persky, Ph.D., telephone: 919-966-9104 or visit http://www.pharmacy.unc.edu/labs/short-course .