In the first year, students will complete a core curriculum that includes the required courses outlined below, followed by courses for more senior students.
Doctoral Programs
Pharmacology
Curriculum
Year 1
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Dr. Kristen Pleil, Director
One week introduction to all Pharmacology courses.
Dr. Minkui Luo, Director, Dr. Heeseon An, Co-Director
Chemical biology is a diverse and evolving field involving chemical approaches to studying and manipulating biological systems. In this course, students will develop an understanding of chemical reactions used in the synthesis and biosynthesis of small molecules and macromolecules, and of the chemical principles that underlie enzyme function and receptor pharmacology. These topics are at the core of modern molecular pharmacology and are essential to understanding how drugs are currently developed in the pharmaceutical industry. At the end of the course, students give an oral presentation on a current topic in chemical biology of their choosing.
Dr. Josef Anrather (Neuroscience), Director, Dr. Michael Kharas, Course Co-Director
This multidisciplinary course combines lectures about the fundamental biochemical, cellular, molecular, immunological, genetic, and bioinformatics approaches that are used in biomedical research with critical discussion of research papers. In addition to lectures, each meeting will have provisions for a discussion period. Generally, the discussion period will be used to discuss an original research paper, but occasionally it will be used for a model building laboratory, or a review session. The development of a research proposal is a major component of the course. The course is open to all students and fellows and it is a core course for both neuroscience and pharmacology. (students can be exempted from this course if they pass the exam given at the beginning of the course. If they are exempted, they would then take Methods in Pharmacology instead as a requirement.)
Dr. Samie Jaffrey and Dr. Kaavya Krishna Kumar, Co-Directors
This course focuses on the underlying logic behind the design of scientific experiments. An emphasis is placed on understanding how hypotheses are generated, and how variables, assays, rationales, and model building are utilized in experimental design. Each class focuses on a recent paper in the scientific literature, and uses the paper as a starting point for discussion. Students are expected to propose and justify novel experiments based on the paper and discussion. Students are encouraged to use "Protocols in Molecular Biology," as well as other resources to become familiar with the methodology, advantages, and limitations of the experimental approaches used in the papers. It is expected that students will have to read background papers for each of the papers discussed in class.
RCR contact: rcr@mskcc.org for more information.
The responsible conduct of research is the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. Training in this area is an essential component of research training; awareness and application of established professional norms and ethical principles is required in the performance of all activities related to scientific research. Weill Cornell Medical College is committed to fostering an environment that promotes the practice of scientific investigation with integrity. This course is intended to help fulfill that commitment. Course information is available here.
Dr. Samie Jaffrey and Dr. Pengbo Zhou, Co-Directors
This is an advanced course on the molecular pharmacology of cellular signal transduction mechanisms. The course will provide students with a fundamental understanding of the recurring themes that have evolved to enable cell-cell communication - lectures cover all major mammalian signaling pathways. An emphasis is placed on the use of pharmacologic and chemical tools to study problems in signal transduction and on structural insights into signaling mechanisms that have been gained by the application of X-ray, NMR, and computational approaches.
Major topics to be covered include:
Signaling through G-protein coupled receptors
Heterotrimeric and monomeric G proteins
Signaling through enzyme-linked receptors
Receptors with tyrosine kinase activity
Signaling via ion channels
Lipid-mediated cell signaling
Signaling via reactive molecules/redox;
Signaling through nuclear receptors.
The course is intended to expose students to the most current progress in the field of cell signaling. Upon completion, it is expected that students will comprehend and appreciate the merits of journal articles that report the latest findings in signal transduction research.
Dr. Lonny Levin and Dr. Annarita Di Lorenzo, Co-Directors
The Systems Pharmacology Module occupies the third quarter of the year-long Introduction to Pharmacological Principles. It is a 9-week course arranged into three modules: 5 sessions in the first module cover general pharmacological principles, 9 sessions in the second module focus on nervous and circulatory systems, and 10 sessions in the third and final module cover host defense, renal and endocrine systems. An understanding of systems pharmacology is necessary and valuable for all Pharmacology Graduate Students.
Dr. Miklos Toth, Director, Dr. Karin Hochrainer (Neuroscience Program), Co-Director
This course is jointly sponsored by the Neuroscience and Pharmacology Programs. It is designed to present current concepts of the major central nervous system (CNS) neurotransmitters and their functional neuroanatomy. The course will integrate discussions of the mechanisms of neurotransmitter biosynthesis and release, receptor signal transduction, and the alterations produced by CNS drugs.
Dr. Dawid Nowak, Director
The Pharmacology Seminar Series is a series of presentations by invited speakers from universities and the pharmaceutical industry discussing topics of importance in the broad field of pharmacology. These topics include both scientific and policy presentations. Students may choose to have lunch with the speaker to discuss a wide range of topics in an informal atmosphere. In addition, each student meets, as a part of a small group, with one speaker after the seminar when the discussion focuses on the topic discussed in the seminar.
Dr. David Scheinberg and Dr. Arvin Dar, Co-Directors
Focuses on the principles and applications of modern cancer therapeutic approaches. Lecture topics range from traditional cytotoxic and anti-mitotic agents, to natural products and their chemistry, to biologic and immunologic therapies, to rationally designed targeted small molecule inhibitors. Basic principles underlying mechanisms of cancer cell death, angiogenesis, and radiobiology and imaging are also covered. Cancer stem cells and therapeutic approaches focused on cancer stem cells are also discussed.
Students will also complete two electives: one 2-quarter elective and a one 1-quarter required course (Students that hold a Master's degree are exempt). The 2-quarter elective can be selected from the following list below: (Please reach out to the Program Director and Coordinator for instructions on how to apply to an elective not listed here). Additional courses in the graduate school are available for students to take as electives; these are listed under the other PhD Programs.
Year 2
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Only offered in Spring Q3-4
Dr. Lisa Placanica, Dr. Jamie Brisbois, Dr. Randi Silver (Facilitators)
The Fundamentals of Academic Business Development course and training program is organized and sponsored by the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Technology Licensing (CTL@WCM), part of Weill Cornell Medicine Enterprise Innovation. Through the course, participants will gain hands-on experience in academic technology transfer and business development, divided into three modules:
- Intellectual Property Protection
- Technology Evaluation
- Partnering Academic Technologies.
In each module, participants will apply the teachings to actual Weill Cornell Medicine inventions, helping cultivate the next generation of innovative life science technologies. In Module I, participants will learn about academic intellectual property (IP) strategy and management and will prepare draft claim sets and perform a prior art search to inform institutional IP strategy. In Module II, participants will learn about the intake process for academic invention disclosures and will perform preliminary market research assessments of recent invention disclosures to inform institutional investment decisions. In Module III, participants will learn how to market academic technologies and will prepare a complete marketing package for an academic technology. The course will culminate with pitch deck presentations and a mock negotiation exercise to provide insight into the deal-making process. Please contact Dr Brisbois for syllabus.
Course Director & Contact: Loren Busby
Dr. Daniel Heller & Dr. Jaklien Samaan (Facilitators)
Accelerating BioVenture Innovation teaches basic financial analysis and principles of entrepreneurship. Lectures will cover the process of evaluating the market potential of a technology, building basic financial models, funding mechanisms, and writing and presenting a business plan to potential investors. Lectures are open to members of Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, and Rockefeller University. We welcome leaders in the local NYC healthcare and biotechnology sector to participate. For the Syllabus, please contact Loren Busby or Krista Fretes.
This course replaces Qbio and is required for all second-year students.
Dr. Paul J. Christos, PhD - Course Instructor
This course provides an understanding of Statistics by organizing and displaying data: Frequency tables, Graphs and plots, Histograms, Scatter plots, etc. provides an Introduction to STATA and estimation, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. Single-sample hypothesis testing and interval estimation.
Dr. Jerry Varkey (director), Drs. Lorraine Gudas and Omar Abdel-Wahab (course facilitators)
This course has been designed in collaboration with drug development experts from Roche and provides a foundation of integrated knowledge of the multi-disciplined process of developing a new medication. It includes real world challenges encountered in the areas of discovery, development, manufacturing, global regulatory approval and commercialization of new medicines. In addition, the impact of emerging technologies to healthcare and the development process will be considered. While each lecture could be a topic for one (or more) graduate course, the goal of this integrated program is to provide an introduction to the whole drug development process, to raise awareness of all the different aspects that need to be considered to bring new medicines to patients, and to elicit interest for young investigators. Click here for the 2024 Course Syllabus.
All newly created PDFs on this website are accessible. For accessible versions of archival PDFs, please contact us.
Years 3-5
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Thesis research is typically completed within 4-6 years of tenure in the Program. The written thesis is crafted by the student under the direction of the Major Sponsor.
The Thesis Defense (Final Examination for the degree of PhD) is scheduled with the Graduate School Office at least 30 days in advance. Please submit your Final Thesis for Defense application in the Academic Milestone Tracker Portal.
Please ensure the Final Application for PhD form is signed by one of the Pharmacology leaders: Dr. Gudas, Dr. Abdel-Wahab or Dr. Minkui Luo and then submitted to the program coordinator. Normally, a completed written thesis is submitted to the Examining Committee at least 4-6 weeks in advance of the Thesis Defense date.
The Thesis Defense is public (friends and family are welcome) and begins with a 40-60 min seminar style presentation by the student that summarizes thesis research. This is followed by the departure of all attendees, other than the student, Examining Committee and members of the graduate school faculty that wish to observe the exam.
Similar to the committee assembled for the ACE, the Thesis Examining Committee consists of five members: the Special Thesis Advisory Committee (major and two minor sponsors), one outside examiner (selecting an outside examiner is optional, not required but must be approved by the major sponsor), minimum of two must be Pharmacology Faculty Program members) and a chair (the student can select the chair). The Chair of your defense cannot be the same member that served as your Thesis Committee Meeting Chair.
A successful oral defense and acceptance of the written thesis will result in a recommendation to the Dean for award of the PhD degree in Pharmacology.
Summary Pre-Defense Checklist:
- Ensure your committee has indicated their approval for you to defend in the milestones section of your last annual committee meeting evaluation form.
- Ensure you have completed and submitted your Progression to Degree Form in the Academic Milestone Tracker Portal.
- Ensure you have all your IDPs completed from all your years, including the current year.
Reach out to Aileen to schedule a meeting to do a final overview of your student portfolio.