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 12-24 July 2009 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 and ten other academic institutions and companies.

For additional information contact Mr Stephen Stofflet (Stephen.Stofflet@hc.msu.edu or 517 884-0409) or Peter Cobbett PhD (cobbett@msu.edu or 517 353-5479) .  For more details on the course, including application, see  http://www.phmtox.msu.edu//education/shortcourse.html  and for more information on MSU’s Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, see www.phmtox.msu.edu.

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 .

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Short Course: An Organ Systems Approach to Experimental Targeting of the Metabolic Syndrome“ will be held July 20-31, 2009 in Nashville, TN. The course will be an intensive two week experience for 20 students. The objective of the course is to give students the tools needed to assess whether an experimental intervention (pharmacologic, genetic, dietary, or environmental) alters macronutrient metabolism, energy balance, cardiovascular homeostasis or animal behavior. To accomplish this, we will use a combination of lectures, hands on laboratories, demonstrations and data problem sessions.  For additional information contact Ms. Fran Tripp  (MSshortcourse@vanderbilt.edu; 615-343-1065) or Owen McGuinness PhD (owen.mcguinness@vanderbilt.edu; 615-343-4473) .  For more details on the course, including application, see  http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/medschool/mpb/