Message from the Chair

The Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology spans two overlapping and broad disciplines, one exploring how chemical agents impact living cells and one seeking to understand how inappropriate responses to environmental molecules and internal cellular cues can lead to the development of Cancer. Pharmacological research in our department is directed towards understanding how hormones, neurotransmitters, environmental toxins, growth factors and drugs can modulate cellular function. Departmental research in the area of Cancer biology applies Pharmacological as well as Cell biological and biochemical approaches to understanding how normal cells divide, senesce, and die as well as how these processes go awry during carcinogenesis. Moreover, through collaborative efforts, our department is extending basic scientific findings to translational research, providing new avenues for the treatment of human disease.

As much current research in the fields of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology seeks to elucidate how biological information is transmitted both between and within cells, our department has a particular strength in the area of cell signaling. This research, encompassing many aspects of signal transduction, includes laboratories working at the forefront of calcium signaling, TGF-β signaling, hedgehog signaling, stem cell proliferation, protein acetylation, inositol signaling, steroid hormone signaling, apoptotic signaling, neurotransmitter signaling, as well as kinase and phosphatase action. This area of interest is reflected in the departmental sponsorship of a weekly Signal Transduction Colloquium which brings in outstanding seminar speakers from all over the world. Within the area of cancer biology, the department is interested not only in basic signaling mechanisms, but also in cell cycle regulation, telomerase action, biology of metastasis and the transforming action of specific oncogenes. The department is also home to a core of strong groups with interests in neuropharmacology, including those working on opioids and neuroendocrine function, pharmacology of neurotransmitters, and ion channels. There is considerable overlap among these areas, with investigators working on neurodevelopment and brain tumor etiology as well as cell death within the nervous system. Recently, the department has also added several new faculty members with interests in metabolic regulatory mechanisms, including the basic biology of diabetes.

Occupying the state of the art Levine Science Research Center, the Pharmacology and Cancer Biology department prides itself on its collaborative and collegial atmosphere as well as its dedication to the mentoring and training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows not only participate fully in the research mission of the department, but have a wide array of opportunities to present their data, interact with diverse faculty members and visiting scientists and take advantage of a range of courses. Collectively, these experiences prepare our students to obtain excellent independent positions in colleges and universities as well as research institutes, pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The department trains not only Pharmacology graduate students, but also students working towards Ph.D.s in Molecular Cancer Biology or Toxicology. Moreover, students enter our department through several university-wide multi-disciplinary programs including the Cell and Molecular Biology Program and the University Program in Genetics and Genomics. An innovative undergraduate program also allows students majoring in Biology at Duke to complete an area specialization in Pharmacology, as well as offering courses in Pharmacology and Neuropharmacology for undergraduates. Continuing to browse through the faculty research interests described in these web pages should provide you with a feeling for the exciting and diverse research going on within our department. I encourage you to explore these pages and hope that you will consider the many research and training opportunities offered in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University Medical Center.

Top of page