pharmacology

Hi @indyra!
I study neuroscience but the degrees heavily overlap, and I’m also taking a whole year pharmacology module .
There is a lot of focus on drug-receptor interactions and the pathways that drugs take. I have done lab work where I have added agonists and antagonists to tissue in an organ bath and recorded their electrical activity, observing the varying effects of each drug. Key points will include pharmacokinetics (the effects of the body on drugs through things such as absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) and pharmacodynamics (the effects of drugs on the body).
I highly encourage you to look at the specific modules different universities offer at each year, as it will vary quite heavily! One university might have modules you’ll really enjoy whereas others you may not.
In Southampton, the first year of your course would be more general science (biochemistry, cell biology, chemistry of life etc) and then modules would get more specific as the degree went on, building up to complex ideas such as neuropharmacology of central nervous system disorders.
I hope this was some help, it’s all about exploring the different modules at different unis to help build a big picture. Good luck and you will love whatever you choose!
Freya- BSc Neuroscience

hii can anyone studying a pharmacology degree at uni outline what you topics you cover in the course, what the lab work is like and any other key details about it?
I'm considering it as a potential degree and I want to find out how well-suited it is for me

dependent on the uni, there is a lot of overlap between pharmacology/neuroscience/biomedicine for example i've studied immunology, genetics, biomolecules, physiology. Some pharmacology specific modules are relating to drug targets (so receptors, and signalling pathways) or clinical pharmacology and safety, as well as business in pharmacology.
regarding lab work we've worked with preparing samples for flow cytometers and heavily done assay work

how biology heavy would you say the degree is?
idm biology I suppose, but I'd like to have a degree that is more chemistry focused since it's my favourite/stronger subject and I'd like to go into a career with drug development

how biology heavy would you say the degree is?
idm biology I suppose, but I'd like to have a degree that is more chemistry focused since it's my favourite/stronger subject and I'd like to go into a career with drug development

currently for me i'd say it's biology heavy, but this will be the same with any career in drug development as immunology and bodily processes would be heavily scrutinised. Chemistry is also important, but i'm not sure about the extent, as the only experience i've had with chemistry are in labs regarding calculations, pipetting and dilutions, i'd say its more biochem than chemistry if anything.

In the UK pharmacology is generally a bioscience degree. If you're more interested in the chemistry side but also in the pharma sector, I'd suggest looking at courses in pharmaceutical sciences, or just chemistry itself (with or without specialisms/named as "medicinal chemistry")