University of California-Irvine Pharm

Overview
The University of California, Irvine is a young, dynamic campus that has rapidly become a full partner in the region's growing culture and economy. As a major research university, UCI offers excellent opportunities for graduate students in most traditional academic disciplines and in several interdisciplinary programs unique to the campus. Collaborations between departments in the School of Medicine and the School of Biological Sciences enhance the graduate program, providing students with access to all courses and the research expertise of all faculty members. Graduate students have access to the facilities of the entire nine-campus University of California system.

The University's total enrollment in the fall of 2008 was 27,631 students, of whom 5,393 were graduate students. Pharmacology maintains approximately 30 graduate students in its program.

Recent graduates of the program are doing postdoctoral research at UCI, UCLA, UCSD, Stanford, Scripps Research Institute, and the National Institute of Mental Health. Other graduates hold faculty positions (tenured or tenure track) at UCI, UCLA, UCSD, Yale University, and the Universities of Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota.

The Community
UCI is located 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean and 40 miles south of Los Angeles. The surrounding hills and grazing lands give the campus an open feeling, though an estimated 2 million people live within a 20-mile radius. Concerts, repertory theater, and art galleries are available both on and off campus. Beaches, marinas, ski resorts, and mountain trails are within easy driving distance, and the mild climate permits a wide variety of year-round recreation.

Programs of study and degree requirements
Our Ph.D. program prepares students for careers in academia, research institutions, and the pharmaceutical industry by providing a foundation in all aspects of pharmacology, from molecular mechanisms through behavior. Specific areas of study include molecular and cellular pharmacology, neurosciences, gene regulation, circadian rhythms, epigenetic modifications, neuropharmacology, psychopharmacology, and cardiovascular pharmacology. Emphasis is placed on providing an integrated understanding of drug receptors: their structure, location, and function; molecular aspects of drug action; receptor signaling mechanisms; structure–activity relationships and drug design; and the role of receptors and drugs in development and aging, plasticity, reinforcement and drug abuse, neural disorders, and cardiovascular physiology and disease.

Facilities & Resources
The well-equipped laboratories of the Department of Pharmacology are housed in the Med Surge II Building and the Gillespie Neurosciences Research Facility, located in the School of Medicine adjacent to the main campus. The Science Library and animal-care facility are conveniently located nearby, and a large computing facility is available on the main campus.

Diversity
The University of California, Irvine is committed to the recruitment, admission, and retention of a high quality and diverse graduate student population. We believe that a diverse community of students and faculty is integral to academic excellence and is critical to promoting advanced scholarly research. Among our goals is achieving a student population of men and women reflective of the population at-large, inclusive of those traditionally under-represented in various academic fields and of all socioeconomic levels.

Expenses and Aid
The estimated cost of tuition in 2008/09 is $11,262 for state residents and $26,268 for nonresidents. The tuition levels have not yet been determined for 2009/10.

Financial Aid:
Students who maintain satisfactory academic progress receive full financial support, i.e. tuition, fees, health insurance, and a living stipend ($26,000 for 2008-09, 2009-10 stipend level will be $26,250). Sources of support include University fellowships and NIH training and research grants.

Housing/Living Expenses: University housing is available, as is off-campus housing in nearby communities. For rates and more information, students should visit the University housing Web site at http://www.housing.uci.edu.

How to Apply
To be considered for entrance to the program in the fall quarter, students must submit applications no later that December 15 of the preceding calendar year. Applicants are required to submit an official online application (https://apps.grad.uci.edu/ogsa//index.cfm?action=log_in&CFID=1186146&CFTOKEN=30891508), official transcripts, three letters of recommendation, GRE General and Subject test scores, and pay the application fee. International students are also required to submit TOEFL scores.

Who to Contact
Admissions Committee
Department of Pharmacology
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California 92697-4625
949-824-7651
E-mail: pharm@uci.edu

http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/pharmaco

THE FACULTY AND THEIR RESEARCH

Although diverse in their research specialties, the faculty share a common interest in the molecular basis of drug-receptor interactions. The faculty enjoy international recognition for their contributions to research and service on grant review committees and editorial boards. Graduate students are expected to be active researchers and to publish in major medical and biological journals.

The faculty research programs attract postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists who provide additional resources for research and training. Strong programs in neuroscience, cell biology, physiology and molecular biology in other departments of the School of Medicine and the School of Biological Sciences provide our students with additional opportunities for interaction. The Department also has affiliations with scientists from other academic institutions and from the growing biopharmaceutical industry in Irvine. The latter especially provide the opportunity to experience pharmacology from a drug discovery standpoint.

James D. Belluzzi, Adjunct Professor; Ph.D. University of Chicago, 1970. Brain substrates and pharmacology of reward; characterization of nicotine reinforcement; drug therapies for Parkinson's disease, anxiety, and drug abuse.

Olivier Civelli, Eric and Lila Nelson Professor of Neuropharmacology; Ph.D., Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland), 1979. Molecular biology of G-protein-coupled receptors; diversity of the dopamine receptors; cloning and analyses of new receptors, in particular, orphan receptors (receptors with unknown natural ligand); discovery and characterization of novel neurotransmitters and neuropeptides; determination of the pharmacological, biological, and behavioral activities of the novel neurotransmitters and neuropeptides.

Sue Piper Duckles, Professor and Sr. Associate Dean; Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, 1973. Pharmacology of blood vessels; regulation of neurotransmitter release; physiology and pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system; unique properties of cerebral circulation; effects of gonadal steroids on vascular function; impact of age on cardiovascular regulation.

Frederick J. Ehlert, Professor; Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 1978. Subtypes of muscarinic receptors and their signaling mechanisms in brain, heart, smooth muscle, ocular tissue, and exocine glands; receptor-G-protein interactions; interactions between the signaling pathways of specific neurotransmitter receptors; molecular basis of drug selectivity.

Kelvin W. Gee, Professor; Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 1981. Molecular characterization of a novel receptor site coupled to the GABAA receptor-ion channel complex; discovery of novel ligands that interact with these sites and their potential therapeutic application.

Naoto Hoshi, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa (Japan) 1999. Physiological role and regulation of the M-channel, molecular biology, electrophysiology and live cell FRET imaging.

Diana N. Krause, Adjunct Professor; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1977. Characterization of the receptors for the circadian hormone melatonin pharmacology, localization, and function in the brain and vascular system; vascular effects of estrogen.

Frances M. Leslie, Professor and Acting Dean/Graduate Division; Ph.D. Aberdeen University, Aberdeen (Scotland), 1977. Cellular and molecular characterization of action of drugs of abuse, with particular reference to morphine and nicotine; analysis of the effects of drug abuse and stress on neural plasticity, particularly during brain development.

Daniele Piomelli, Professor and Louise Turner Arnold Chair in Neurosciences; Ph.D. Columbia University, New York, 1987. Various signaling pathways that involve lipids with particular interest in the endogenous cannabinoids; arachidonic acid derivatives that activate cannabinoid (marijuana) receptors in brain and other tissues; biochemical mechanisms involved in the formation and inactivation of these molecules; developing pharmacological tools to interfere with these pathways; wide range of molecular biological, pharmacological, and analytical techniques.

Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Ph.D. University of Naples (Italy), 1979. Cellular and Molecular pathways regulating gene expression, epigenetic mechanisms, physiological functions, circadian clock, light signaling, metabolism, cancer, and male germ cells.

Qun-Yong Zhou, Professor; Ph.D. Health Sciences University Portland, Oregon, 1992. Physiology and neuropharmacology of prokineticins and prokineticin receptors; circadian rhythms and neurogenesis.

Joint Faculty

• Emiliana Borrelli, Professor, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics; Ph.D., University of Naples (Italy), 1979. Mouse models for the study of brain disorders; dopamine system; molecular basis of addiction and neurodegeneration.

• William E. Bunney Jr., Professor, Psychiatry & Human Behavior; M.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1956. Clinical psychobiological and neuropsychopharmacological studies of manic-depressive illness; schizophrenia and childhood mental illness.

• Pietro R. Galassetti, Associate Professor in Res., Pediatrics; M.D., University of Rome "La Sapienza", 1986. Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 1998. Physiological and altered adaptive responses to stress in healthy and dysmetabolic children and adults; non-invasive monitoring of metabolic variables through analysis of exhaled gases.

• Mahtab Jafari, , Assistant Professor and Director of Pharmaceutical Sciences Undergraduate Program; Pharm.D., University of California, San Francisco, 1994. Anti-aging effects of botanicals and pharmaceutical compounds; the impact of botanical extracts on mitochondrial bioenergetics, oxidative stress, and other pathways of aging using cell culture and Drosophila.

• Arthur D. Lander, Professor, Developmental & Cell Biology; M.D. (1985)/Ph.D. (1985), University of California, San Francisco. Molecular neurobiology; intracellular and extracellular signaling in the control of axon guidance and cell motility; functions of the extracellular matrix; transgenic animal approaches to neural development and function.

• Ellis R. Levin, Professor in Residence, Department of Medicine; M.D., Thomas Jefferson University & Medical College, 1975. Molecular and cellular biology of natriuretic peptides and endothelin and their receptors in the brain and the vasculature; regulation of astrocyte growth by these peptides.

• John C. Longhurst, Professor, Department of Medicine; M.D. (1973)/Ph.D. (1974), University of California, Davis. How the nervous system regulates the cardiovascular system and its role in this regulation.

• Z. David Luo, Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology & Preoperative Care; M.D. (China 1984)/Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1993. Study gene regulation and signaling pathways in chronic pain processing using animal models, and molecular biology techniques.

• John F. Marshall, Professor, Neurobiology & Behavior; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1973. Recovery of function after brain injury; organization of the basal ganglia motor system; neuronal circuitry of drug craving.

• Rainer Reinscheid, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences; Ph.D., Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg (Germany), 1993. Isolation of natural ligands for "orphan" G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and their physiological functions; the neurobiology of anxiety and stress behavior, neuropeptides involved in sleep and arousal.

• Sandor Szabo, Professor in Residence, Pathology; M.D., University of Belgrade Medical School (Ireland), 1968; Ph.D., University of Montreal (Canada), 1973. Effects of growth factors (e.g., FGF, PDGF) on ulcer healing and prevention.