What
is it about?
How do you get in?
What do you study?
What do you get out of it?
Scholarship?
What to find out more?
What is it about?
Pharmacology is the study of how drugs work. In this context, the
term “drugs” includes a wide
range of chemicals that affect humans and animals. Understanding
how drugs work is not only
important for the development of new safe therapies for disease,
but also for out understanding
of how the body works. Basic pharmacologists develop new drug molecules
and study their
mechanisms of action and side-effects, while clinical pharmacologists
are more involved with the
use of drugs in human health and disease. Related disciplines include
toxicology (the study of the
toxic effects of drugs and chemicals), and medicinal chemistry (the
study of the chemical properties of drugs).
Pharmacology
plays a major role in human health and society. Pharmacologists
are responsible for the discovery of new molecules used in the treatment
of disease and the relief of suffering in both humans and animals.
Nevertheless, some drugs can produce harmful effects (eg birth defects
from thalidomide), or be abused in society (eg heroin and amphetamines).
The
pharmaceutical and healthcare industries that are a major part of
the current push into biotechnology rely heavily on pharmacology
for their notable successes. Molecular biology is a powerful tool
that has greatly contributed to the understanding of how drugs work,
and together with pharmacogenomics (the study of how genetics influences
drug action and effects), will continue to have a great impact on
pharmacology over the next decade.
How do you get
in?
If
your interest is in the science of how drugs work, or in the application
of pharmacological
knowledge in the community, then you can study pharmacology through
the Faculty of Life and
Physical Sciences as a major in the Bachelor of Science degree or
as a major in several of the
specialised Bachelor of Science programmes. you will begin your
study of Pharmacology in second
year. Prerequisites for the Bachelor of Science, BSc (Biomedical
Science) and BSc (Neuroscience)
are TER English or English Literature (or ESL if you are eligible)
and a TER mathematics subject.
There are additional prerequisites for the BSc (Biophysical Science):
Applicable Mathematics,
Chemistry and Physics, with Calculus being highly desirable. Pharmacology
is available as a major
within the Bachelor of Health Science and its combined degrees with
Economics and Commerce.
What do you study?
UWA is the only university in Western Australia where a pharmacology
major can be studied towards a BSc degree. The subject can also
be studied as part of combined degree programmes with Arts, Law,
Economics or Commerce. It is required that you study Chemistry and
Biology or Human Biology in the first year and if you intend to
enrol in Pharmacology. In second year you will study two Pharmacology
units. Principles of Pharmacology PHAR2210 provides an introduction
to the basic principles of pharmacology, including mechanisms of
action (pharmacodynamics), drug-receptor interactions, drug metabolism
and disposition (pharmacokinetics), pharmacogenetics, structure-based
drug design, and drug addiction/dependence. Systems Pharmacology
PHAR2230 provides an introduction to the actions of drugs in tissues,
organs and the whole body environment as well as the molecular basics
of drug action. Topics covered include the pharmacology of the autonomic
nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory pharmacology, cancer,
endocrine pharmacology, and central nervous system pharmacology.
Good companion units at the second year level include molecular
biology, biochemistry, physiology, chemistry and microbiology.
The
emphasis at the third year level switches from the breadth of topics
taught in second year to a more in-depth analysis of selected areas.
Laboratory and experimental methodology is given greater weight,
and students are encouraged to develop communication skills as well
as a critical approach to the evaluation of information. Molecular
Pharmacology PHAR3301 is offered in first semester and covers receptor
pharmacology, structure activity relationships and structure-based
drug design, immunopharmacology, and neuropharmacology. Systems
Pharmacology PHAR3302 is offered in second semester and covers autonomic
pharmacology, respiratory pharmacology, psychopharmacology, pharmacokinetics
and drug metabolism, cancer chemotherapy and gene therapy.
Prerequisites
for the third year units, in addition to Level 1 Biology/Human Biology
and Chemistry, are Principles of Pharmacology PHAR2210 and Systems
Pharmacology PHAR2230.
What do you get
out of it?
Pharmacology offers a wide variety of worthwhile and rewarding career
options. You can work as
a researcher in a university, hospital or as a drug evaluator with
statutory bodies, for example,
the Therapeutic Goods Administration. In addition you may choose
to work for a pharmaceutical
company in areas such as drug regulation or marketing. Careers in
academia are also possible.
Whatever you do, pharmacology is very much a matter of team work,
but there is plenty of scope
for the pursuit of individual interests. Pharmacology puts you at
the forefront of exciting
developments in modern science in an area that changes daily with
the discovery of new drugs
and new disease applications.
Scholarships
Ted Maslen
Scholarship –
awarded to Year 12 rural students entering Science studies at university
for the first time.
The scholarship(s) will be awarded on the basis of academic achievement
and sporting
achievement. The scholarship is valued at a minimum of $1,000.
Applications close the Friday before commencement of first semester
in the year in which the
student is enrolled. Further information concerning this scholarship
can be obtained from the
Executive Administrator,
Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences,
UWA, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley 6009.
Telephone (08) 9380 3418, facsimile (08) 9380 1058,
email: jgamble@science.uwa.edu.au
Want
to find out more?
Further information on the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of
Surgery degree is available
from:
The
Administrative Officer
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre
University of Western Australia
Nedlands WA 6907
For further information regarding the Bachelor of Science degree,
contact:
The Sub Dean
Faculty of Science
The University of Western Australia
Crawley WA 6907
phone: 61 08 9380 3396
The
Australasian Sciety of Clinical & Experimental Pharmacologist
and Toxicologist (ASCEPT)
http://www.ascept.org/
The British Pharmaological Society
http://www.bps.ac.uk
The Department of Pharmacology enquiry office is located at:
Room
1.39, First Floor, M Block
Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre
Postal Address
Department of Pharmacology
University of Western Australia
Crawley, WA 6009
AUSTRALIA.
Phone 61 08 9346 2987 Fax
61 08 9346 3469
E-mail :
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