# Interdepartmental Training in Pharmacological Sciences

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $585,155

## Abstract

This new application requests support for the newly re-designed University of Michigan (U-M) Pharmacological
Sciences Training Program (PSTP). The goal of the PSTP is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained biomedical
scientists who have the technical, operational and professional skills to conduct pharmacological research in an
ethically responsible and rigorous manner, and to enter diverse careers in the biomedical research
workforce. Annual support for 12 trainees (6-Year 2 and 6-Year 3 Trainees in any one year) is requested
throughout the five years of funding. The U-M PSTP is a long-standing collaboration between the Medical School
and the College of Pharmacy that provides synergistic, translational education, research training, and career
development for pre-doctoral trainees in four degree-granting programs: Pharmacology, Biological Chemistry,
Medicinal Chemistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The new, competency-based PSTP curriculum, which
includes an experiential program in Real-World Drug Discovery, is designed to provide trainees with a strong
foundational understanding of the pharmacological sciences, to provide training in the performance of rigorous
and reproducible research, and to provide career development, teamwork, and leadership training, all under the
direction of well-trained and dedicated faculty mentors. An extensive and successful alumni base provides
career mentorship, networking, and future employment opportunities. PSTP mentors encourage trainees to think
broadly about research problems in human disease while focusing their thesis research on a critical, unmet gap
in knowledge using rigorous experimental design and methods. This re-designed strong, interdisciplinary, yet
individualized, training in the pharmacological sciences will give trainees a distinct advantage in that they will be
rapidly employable and well positioned to contribute to the NIH mission to discover new medicines. The
development of novel and effective therapeutic agents is a critical, on-going global need that requires rigorously
trained, innovative team players to solve critical problems in health care. It is essential that the US continue to
produce doctoral-level scientists from diverse backgrounds with broad training in pharmacological sciences and
experimental therapeutics who understand basic science and translational medicine. U-M is a premiere
institution in research and training of graduate students in the biomedical sciences on a global scale. Although
U-M has individual graduate programs in the Departments associated with this training program, the PSTP is
the only program at U-M that draws upon the expertise of faculty, alumni, the Michigan Drug Discovery Institute,
and the enthusiasm of students across these units to fertilize interdisciplinary education, collaborative research,
career development, and team-based approaches to innovation and translation in target discovery and
development of experimental therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10102322
- **Project number:** 1T32GM140223-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Lori L. Isom
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $585,155
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10102322

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10102322, Interdepartmental Training in Pharmacological Sciences (1T32GM140223-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10102322. Licensed CC0.

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