Pharmaceutical Sciences
Chairman's Message
Quentin R. Smith, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Welcome to the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The Department was created in 1996 and currently consists of >20 research-based faculty with over $2.5 million of annual research funding and >40 postdoctoral associates and graduate students. Our program ranks in the top third of pharmacy schools in the United States based on total awards by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in the top twenty in terms of percent faculty with NIH funding.
The focus of the Department is on integrated research combining cutting-edge molecular and biomedical breakthroughs with modern drug development, targeting and formulation. The pharmaceutical sciences combine a broad range of scientific disciplines in the discovery and development of new drugs. These disciplines include:
| Biochemistry | Molecular Biology | Immunology |
| Physiology | Pharmacology | Pharmaceutics |
| Medicinal Chemistry | Pharmacokinetics | Drug Delivery |
It is an exciting time to be scientist in this country. Breakthroughs on the Human Genome Project and modern biomedical science are redefining medical science in the 21 st century. In humans, ~30,000 genes encode for >100,000 different proteins, most of which the function is unknown. Today, drugs in medical practice target only ~500 of these proteins. Advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of disease and the biotechnology of treatment are allowing us to discover and develop modern, targeted drug therapies that are effective in chosen populations with minimal side effects. Insights into molecular structure of receptor binding sites allow us to rationally design drugs that optimally fit these sites before evening doing an experiment. Further, with modern biopharmaceutical drug delivery systems, the dream of "magic bullets" to fight disease is becoming a reality.
The Department offers two training tracks: the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) as part of professional pharmacy program of the School of Pharmacy and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmaceutical Sciences as part of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of TTUHSC. Our graduates, because of their integrated training in biomedical and pharmaceutical science, have excellent job opportunities in academic research, the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, and in government agencies including the Food and Drug Administration.
We welcome your interest in our program and invite you to visit our Department through our web site and through direct contact via telephone or email.
Select this link to view or maintain department contact lists:
1300 S. Coulter St. ~ Amarillo, Texas 79106
Telephone: (806) 356-4015 ~ Fax: (806) 356-4034