Summer Short Courses to Support Training in
Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) will fund four short course workshops to support training in integrative and organ systems pharmacology. These programs recognize the importance of studies using intact organ systems and in vivo models in the conduct of research. The three-year awards were made to lead institutions from among consortia of institutions that will play a collaborative role in teaching and research interactions among participants.  The lead institutions receiving this R25 Education Project award include:

Michigan State University
The Michigan State University Short Course in Integrative and Organ System Pharmacology will be held July 6-20 in East Lansing . The course will be an intensive two-week experience for a small number of students. It will be built around three cornerstones: hands-on laboratory exercises, laboratory demonstrations, and interactive lectures, including animal models of disease, practical knowledge in integrative sciences, and current topics in pharmacology and toxicology. The content will include autonomic, renal, gastrointestinal, computer modeling, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neuropharmacology. Faculty members will be drawn from Michigan State University , Pfizer, DataSciences, and nine other institutions and companies.  For additional information, contact Ms. Faye Spencer or J.R. Haywood, Ph.D., telephone: 517-353-7145 or 517-353-7147; email:  haywoo12@msu.edu ; < www.phmtox.msu.edu < http://www.phmtox.msu.edu/ > .

University of California at San Diego (co-funded with NIMH)

UCSD will offer an intensive 3-week summer course in Systems Pharmacology and Translational Biology for up to 20 participants. The course will focus on the central nervous system, on the cardiovascular system and its autonomic regulation, and on recent techniques for imaging organ function, stressing basic principles of pharmacology and quantitative analysis of data. Additionally, the course will provide training in a variety of mouse imaging techniques and the use of radiopharmaceuticals and interpretation of imaging data; it will train participants in the assessment of phenotype in genetically altered animals, familiarize participants with the use of animal and organ systems in the development of new drugs, provide instruction and experience in the responsible and ethical conduct of research and use of animal subjects, provide opportunities to analyze and present laboratory findings stressing quantitative methods and basic principles of pharmacology, and establish long-term tracking of and communication with and amongst participants. Course Faculty are UCSD professors in the School of Medicine and adjunct faculty from San Diego 's biotech and pharmaceutical industries. For further information contact: Diana Platero (dplatero@ucsd.edu).

University of Nebraska Medical Center

An Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology Short Course will be held in Omaha , June 6-17. The course consists of a 2-week intensive experience for 24 students followed by an optional internship. The course has cardiovascular and neuropharmacology emphases, and includes lectures, demonstrations, and an abundance of laboratory exercises designed to give the participants significant hands-on experience with the effect of drugs on organ systems and intact conscious animal models. These models will include dogs and rats instrumented to determine cardiovascular parameters, the Langendorff perfused heart, and behavioral paradigms in rats and mice. Instruction will be provided by faculty from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University Medical Center , University of Kansas Medical Center, and Abbott Laboratories. For additional information contact Joan Husted, telephone: 402-559-6235 or toll-free

877-832-6924 or visit < http://unmc.edu/iosp >.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Pharmacy presents "An Integrative and Organ Systems Pharmacology Short Course" held July 25-August 5 in Chapel Hill . The course is intended for students of various levels (undergraduate, graduate, medical, pharmacy, etc.) as well as those in industry and government who seek to enhance their pre-clinical laboratory skills; it consists of a two-week intensive experience for 30 students. The course emphasizes routine rodent procedures (gavage,injection, cannulation), isolated and in situ perfused organ systems (liver, kidney, intestine, brain) and neuropharmacology (antinocioception, seizure threshold, brain microdialysis).  Learning experiences will include lectures, demonstrations and intensive laboratory exercises designed to give the participants significant hands-on experience with the effect of drugs on organ systems and intact conscious animal models. These models will include mainly mice and rats, along with some introduction to higher animal models (dogs, pig, and nonhuman primates). The instruction will be provided by faculty from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Long Island University , and Wake Forest University . For additional information contact: Adam M.Persky, Ph.D., telephone: 919-966-9104 or visit

< http://pharmacy.unc.edu/pkpd/isop_frame.htm >.