Pharmacology is the scientific discipline that, in the attempt to improve health and alleviate disease, studies the mechanisms by which drugs alter biological systems. Toxicology is the study of mechanisms by which drugs and chemicals in the environment produce unwanted effects. Together these disciplines encompass the molecular basis of drug action, the actions of drugs on cells, organs, and organisms, genetic variations in drug action, and drug discovery. Since new drugs are being introduced into clinical medicine at a rapid pace, and since there are increasing concerns regarding the impact of environmental pollutants on our health, research in pharmacology and toxicology is at the forefront of medical science.

The mission of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Indiana University School of Medicine is to perform outstanding research to advance the understanding of the interactions of chemicals and drugs with living systems and to assist in the development of new therapeutics and strategies to treat disease. We train future physicians and scientists in the disciplines of pharmacology and toxicology, and we serve the scientific community in the state and the nation through our national and international scientific endeavors.

The investigators in our department study cancer, neurobiology, infectious agents, and toxicology, the unifying theme of the work centers on cellular signaling and the regulation of gene expression.  This focus has particular relevance in pharmacology and toxicology as these processes are often drug targets either by design or as a side effect.  For example, insight into how a cell communicates to its nucleus to modulate gene expression is rapidly being recognized as a novel approach to developing therapies to combat many diseases including cancer, infection, and neurological disorders.  

The faculty of the department is strongly committed to outstanding multidisciplinary graduate education in Pharmacology and Toxicology. We maintain graduate degree programs in both disciplines, and we train individuals for careers in academics (university faculty in all areas of health science), in government (National Institutes of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control, Legislative Branch) and in the private sector (pharmaceutical companies, chemical companies, agricultural industry, research foundations).