# Training Interdisciplinary Pharmacology Scientists

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2020 · $212,410

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
Training Interdisciplinary Pharmacology Scientists (TIPS) will train predoctoral students to address
critical issues in drug development, by providing them the tools and knowledge to navigate the ever-
changing, interdisciplinary landscape that makes up today’s basic, translational, and clinical research. This T32
program is designed to create leaders in the broadly defined field of Pharmacological Sciences. TIPS will
provide interdisciplinary training in drug development including screening, computation, medicinal chemistry,
and structural biology relevant to target discovery and validation, while exploring how to maximize therapeutic
benefit, minimize toxicity and implement precision medicine. Through the participation of 3 premier and
neighboring biomedical research institutions and their graduate schools (University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, and Rice University), TIPS will provide interdisciplinary training,
career development activities and industry shadowships that will prepare students to advance biomedical
research through successful careers in academia, government and regulatory agencies, and industry. Program
leadership includes the program director and co-director and a steering committee of representatives from the
participating graduate schools, with assistance from an advisory committee of diverse experts. TIPS program
requirements and benefits will include co-mentoring from two faculty in a collaborative research project;
specific didactic and elective courses (available to TIPS trainees at all participating graduate schools); monthly
trainee meetings to build a unified cohort; career development activities, and required training in the
responsible conduct of research. Mentors will include 26 faculty members at 3 institutions, working in 9
different departments and two interdepartmental graduate programs, who have training and research expertise
in drug/compound screening, pharmacology, computation, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, systems
biology, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular and cellular biology. All participating departments recruit
nationwide, especially for under-represented minority students and students with disabilities. This provides a
large, diverse pool of predoctoral students from a variety of backgrounds for our 5 requested slots. Students
will apply to TIPS after joining a lab near the end of their first year or during their second year of graduate
school, and if selected through a competitive application process, will receive two years of support.
Reappointment to a second year will be contingent on a thorough oral and written review of trainee research
progress and completion of program requirements. TIPS will complement the degree requirements of a
trainee’s home institution, causing no delay in degree completion. The interdisciplinary skills emphasized by
this program will produce pharmacology scientists well positioned to adv...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9944595
- **Project number:** 5T32GM120011-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Carmen W. Dessauer
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $212,410
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9944595

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9944595, Training Interdisciplinary Pharmacology Scientists (5T32GM120011-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9944595. Licensed CC0.

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