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Why Participate

Training Re-Imagined

IPSTP training benefits scientists in their future careers by providing a solid foundation of pharmacological sciences principles and exposure to their application in practice. The Program also exposes our biological sciences graduate students to chemical and medicinal chemistry concepts often absent in traditional coursework. 

We aim for every student in the MSU IPSTP to have a solid, broad foundation in pharmacological principles from the chemical nature of drugs to their complex in vivo interactions with biological systems. In industry and academia, drug discovery requires collaboration between biologists and chemists; by working together in multidisciplinary groups early in their careers our students will develop into leaders capable of working in and building multidisciplinary teams to enhance the drug discovery/development process.

The IPSTP at MSU was started in 1979 by faculty in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology and has had NIGMS training grant support since 2011. In 2016, Dr. Rick Neubig became Principle Investigator with Dr. Anne Dorrance as the Associate Director. Given Dr. Neubig's expertise, drug discovery was added to complement the Program's existing strengths in in vivo pharmacology. With that change came Preceptors from the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering PhD Programs, as well as drug discovery experts that Dr. Neubig recruited to MSU. 

In 2016, innovative week-long summer “boot camps” were developed to provide hands-on exposure to in vivo and drug discovery methodologies. For career development, a day-long summer road trip for IPSTP students to visit companies or other potential career opportunity settings was implemented. These have included a drug discovery Contract Research Organization, a small biotech, and a large Pharma company. 

Since 2011, 4 IPSTP students (2 per year) are supported by the T32 grant with three to four additional students (1-2/year) supported by matching funds from MSU. Of the 18 students who have graduated from the IPSTP with PhDs, 94% have remained in science. Graduated are in a range of career settings (59% academic science, 29% industry, 6% government, and 6% medicine). 

Students will:

  • Develop a broad understanding of the fundamental principles of pharmacological sciences
  • Learn the value of in vivo pharmacology and develop an understanding of ethical issues related to the field
  • Develop an understanding of the key concepts of drug discovery and medicinal chemistry, including an understanding of the analysis and interpretation of large data sets
  • Acquire an in-depth knowledge of research ethics and mechanisms to enhance scientific rigor and reproducibility
  • Improve their critical thinking skills and enhance their ability to design experiments and identify important research questions
  • Expand their written and oral scientific communication skills and enhance their confidence in both
  • Develop leadership skills and to learn the value of working as an interdisciplinary team
Participation