Pharmaceutical Sciences

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences comprises faculty from a broad range of scientific disciplines that are critical to the discovery and development of new drugs and therapies. Faculty research interests are focused on environmental health, cancer, infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, brain and behavioral health, and drug and vaccine delivery.

From the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Members of the department are highly dedicated to our research and educational missions. We teach pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy’s professional Doctor of Pharmacy program. We also provide laboratory training and mentoring to these students as well as undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral trainees. At the graduate level, we teach didactic course in pharmacology and toxicology and other specialized topics courses. We strive to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills in all our trainees.

Our faculty conduct basic and translational research in the pharmaceutical sciences. Faculty research interests are focused on environmental health, cancer, infectious disease, cardiovascular disease, brain and behavioral health and drug and vaccine delivery. Our faculty are part of interdisciplinary teams and collaborate extensively with colleagues within the Health Sciences Center and Main Campus. The scope of our research programs spans from “bench to bedside”, from cell culture to animal models to human subjects and community-based educational and intervention studies. Visit “About Our Labs” link to learn about the cutting edge research that is occurring in our Department.

Our Mission

Our mission is to advance pharmaceutical sciences through research and the education and training of our professional, graduate and post-graduate students.

Highlights

Research: Our faculty are part of interdisciplinary teams and make key scientific contributions critical to the discovery and development of new drugs and therapies.

Teaching: Our faculty are committed to providing outstanding educational experiences for both professional and graduate students. In addition to didactic teaching, faculty provide laboratory training and mentoring to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Service: Our faculty provide leadership within the Health Sciences Center and the broader scientific community.

The UNM College of Pharmacy continued its ascent in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) national research rankings for NIH funding and overall total extramural funding. The COP ranked 8th in the nation this year, up four places from last year's ranking of 12th, for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, the COP ranked 15th in overall total research funding by the AACP.  Annually, the AACP measures extramural research funds received by the nation's roughly 130 pharmacy schools in such categories as: total research funding; NIH funding and other federal funding. Of the more than $17 million in total extramural research funding at the COP in the latest federal fiscal year, roughly ninety percent (over $15.3 million) came from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Funding for these awards comes from various sources including:

• National Institutes of Health
• National Science Foundation
• American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education
• Not-for-profit entities
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Pharmaceutical companies

The pharmaceutical sciences comprise a broad range of disciplines, including pharmacology and toxicology, pharmaceutics and drug delivery and pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry, which are critical to the discovery and development of new drugs and therapies. Our faculty are part of interdisciplinary teams and collaborate with the UNM Health Sciences Center’s signature programs. Research ranges from cell culture to animal models to human subjects in the following areas:

• Brain and Behavioral Health
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases
• Drug and Vaccine Delivery
• Environmental Health Sciences
• Infectious Disease and Immunity