About Us

Departmental Facts

The University of Alberta is one of the largest universities in Canada with a student enrollment in excess of 37,800 (including about 7,100 graduate students) in 18 different Faculties. The main North campus, where the Department of Pharmacology is situated, lies just south of the North Saskatchewan River and overlooks the river valley and downtown Edmonton.

The Department of Pharmacology currently has 24 academic staff, including several who are cross-appointed with other departments within the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry or the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Most of our laboratories are located on the 9th floor of the Medical Sciences Building where the departmental office is also located. This building is also home to the Departments of Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Medical Genetics, and Physiology, in addition to the Division of Anatomy and Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Other members of the Department have laboratory/office space in the adjacent Heritage Medical Research Centre, in the Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation that houses the Alberta Diabetes Institute, or in the Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research.

Research activities within the Department of Pharmacology are well funded by provincial, national and international agencies, allowing us to maintain a very strong research profile. Many experimental projects are performed in collaboration with investigators from other departments in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, or from other Canadian or international institutions. Research strengths are in the areas of molecular pharmacology, neuropharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology and diabetes and obesity.

The MSc and PhD graduate programs in pharmacology are research-oriented with a minimal requirement for course work. Graduate students have excellent opportunities to work in modern research laboratories that employ cutting edge methodology to address a wide range of pharmacological topics.

The Department of Pharmacology is also proud to offer one of the few BSc Pharmacology programs in Canada. There are approximately 20 to 25 students in each year of the undergraduate program who are offered a range of lecture- and laboratory-based courses. Pharmacology content is also delivered to general science students as well as to students in MD, DDS, BSc Pharmacy and Dental Hygiene programs.