Integrative Pharmacology
PHM 895 Applied Project

PHM 895 is a new course to provide research experience solely for students of the Professional Science Masters in Integrative Pharmacology program. Students address a research, theoretical, or applied problem in whole-animal or organ level pharmacology, typically in cooperation with a workplace supervisor or laboratory partner.

Choosing a Topic

Students work with their Departmental advisor to choose a topic.  Project ideas may originate from suggestions by an employer and match the interests and career goals of individual students. On-the-job project or internship should be consistent with prior coursework.  A few example projects follow:
      -- Original independent research in integrative or organ level pharmacology
      -- Validation of a new animal model
      -- Development of an integrative lab exercise

Timeframes

Students can begin thinking about their Applied Projects early in their program. We encourage students to use information gained in their courses for their Applied Project. Occasionally, students have the opportunity to begin laying the groundwork for their Projects through their research or writing assignments in elective courses.

All coursework for the MS in Integrative Pharmacology should be completed prior to beginning the Applied Project unless there is Departmental approval to complete final courses concurrently with the Applied Project. 

Typically, students will take their Projects through the following phases.

Identification and definition of scope - with Department advisor and other stakeholders
Background research and planning - literature review, benchmarking, budget development...
Implementation - experimentation, data collection, testing, further research...
Documentation - written report suitable for publication

Assessment of Project

Students’ grades will be determined by evaluation of their participation in the project including feedback from any workplace or on-campus supervisor of the project, objective evaluation of written report and other presentations of results.

Quality and thus grading of individual projects will be based upon the following criteria: