Pharmaceutics

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The Department of Pharmaceutics has a rich tradition of innovation and a commitment to advancing health through new knowledge. Faculty members make significant contributions to enhancing understanding of drug action and delivery. 

Pharmaceutics is the study of the quantitative aspects of drug delivery. It involves the design, development and evaluation of drugs in combination with an appropriate dosage form.  A pharmaceutical scientist:

  • characterizes physical properties of drugs
  • develops innovative delivery systems for drugs
  • quantitatively evaluates drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and pharmacological activity in the living organism.

PhD and MS Graduate Programs

The PhD and MS Graduate Programs in Pharmaceutics prepares students for research in the development and testing of drug products, including investigating interactions of drugs with complex biological systems and the physical and chemical formulation of drugs for delivery.  Specializations include: 

  • pharmacokinetics
  • pharmacodynamics
  • drug metabolism
  • crystal engineering
  • polymer-based drug delivery
  • biophysical chemistry
  • molecular biopharmaceutics 

Learn more about PhD and MS Graduate Programs

Research Areas

  • Drug delivery to the central nervous system to treat Alzheimer’s, brain cancer, pain, addiction, and epilepsy
  • Targeted drug delivery to treat cancers; Respiratory delivery methods to treat a variety of conditions including lung cancer
  • Engineered nanoparticles to target drugs to the desired sites
  • Polymeric drug delivery
  • Behavior and movement of a drug to its intended destination in the body
  • Materials science and engineering of drug substance and drug products
  • Strategies to enhance drug availability to the body

Read more about our research

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Departmental Publications

Read our 2022 Annual Newsletter (PDF)

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