Pharmacodynamics: The study of the biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action. –The Merck Manual
Our research is at the interface of physiology, neuroscience, pharmacology and pathology. We rely on a combination of molecular, biochemical, cellular and behavioral tools.
The general goals of our Department’s research are to understand normal physiology, pathophysiology, and drug action.
Our faculty are currently PI’s on grants from the NIAAA, NIDA, NIDDK, and NIEHS.
We are Co-I’s on grants from NHLBI, NINDS, and NIDDK.
We have additional funding from the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, and the American Health Assistance Foundation.
Faculty Spotlight
Michael Meldrum, Ph.D.Associate Professor
News
Research on Brain Chemicals May Lead to Treatment of Alcoholism
Alcohol-related problems cost society in economic terms approximately $185 billion a year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The catastrophic costs in human terms cannot be determined. Addiction to alcohol results in human tragedy not only to the individual but also for families who love and support those caught in this grim illness.
Joanna Peris, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of pharmacodynamics in the College of Pharmacy, is conducting basic research that looks at the changes in neurochemistry in the brains of rats choosing to drink alcohol. This research may discover what chemicals cause the cravings for alcohol and lead to a breakthrough in how to control the urge to drink too much.
“My research will help us understand what goes on in the brain during excessive drinking,” Peris said. “This may lead us to come up with a therapy.”