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Contents

Subject Overview

Are you interested in understanding how drugs work? And how they can improve health? Pharmacology is an exciting field of study and is essential to the discovery of new medicines to fight diseases.
Whether it’s a drug we swallow for a headache or to cure cancer, Pharmacology looks at how the medication produces beneficial and adverse effects. Pharmacology also explores how we can improve the way drugs are tested.
Study Pharmacology and contribute to tomorrow’s medicines and make a difference to health around the world.

Knowledge and Skills

When you join us for your doctorate in Pharmacology, you'll join a high-calibre research community.
Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of Auckland continues to be ranked in the top 30 worldwide, and 3rd in Australasia (QS World University Rankings).
The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences is New Zealand’s leading provider of tertiary education in the health field and the country’s largest centre for medical and biomedical research.
You will have access to high-quality modern research and laboratory facilities.
As well as undertaking high quality research in a well-supported environment, the Department provides opportunities to publish papers, attend international conferences, and develop your networks in academia and industry.

Areas of research interest range from fundamental research on diseases to identify potential drug targets, through computer modelling for hit discovery, preclinical models for drug activity and toxicity, to work with patients.
- Molecular basis of disease (Poulsen) and human neurodegeneration (Dragunow)
- Neural reprogramming and repair (Young)
- Protein structure and the molecular basis of drug action (Flanagan, Grimsey)
- New therapies for brain diseases (Connor, Dragunow, Young, Park, McCaughey-Chapman)
- Receptor signalling and disease (Grimsey)
- Preclinical pharmacology for anticancer drugs (Flanagan, Jamieson, Tingle, Park)
- Drug metabolism and toxicology (Tingle)
- Clinical pharmacology including cancer clinical trials, paediatric pharmacology and drugs used during surgery (Hannam, Holford, McKeage, Tingle)
- Disease progression and drug action (Hannam, Holford)
- Neurodegenerative blood biomarkers (Cawston)

Potential Careers

Our graduates work in government and pharmaceutical industries, healthcare and universities. Many pharmacologists work in labs, but others teach, work in publishing or have regulatory roles.

Schedule

Plan Schedules