The main aim of the Master’s in Pharmacology Research is to introduce students to the world of research so that they are prepared for future innovation, research and the development of new medicines for their use in diagnosis, preventive medicines or in the treatment of human illness, with the ultimate aim of improving health and quality of life, both at individually (the patient) and socially. The Master’s provides students with a range of knowledge and basic research skills. In this way, if students wish to they can move onto the doctorate programme and earn the corresponding title of Doctor. The Master’s programme therefore also has a clear academic focus.
One of the main aims of the Master’s is to ensure that students acquire a range of basic knowledge to be able to carry out any kind of research within the field of Pharmacology, as the physiological and pharmacological basis of therapeutics, the identification of potential daily therapies, new outlooks in pharmacological therapeutics or the importance of clinical trials in pharmacological research. Students are also encouraged to understand the cross-cutting aspects of scientific research, such as sourcing and presenting scientific information and its critical analysis or the methods of processing and analysing results of experiments.
Once this knowledge has been acquired, the Master’s then aims to introduce the student to a more specific area of pharmacology research, whether this is research in cardiovascular pharmacology or Neuropsychopharmacology. For this reason, we aim to broaden the students’ knowledge in the areas of physiopathology, cell and molecular biology and pharmacology in the area selected, and put them in touch with the latest advances and perspectives in the field. At the same time, through an education that is both academic and practical we aim for the student’s understanding of the principal techniques and experimental models used in the field of research chosen.
Specialization in Cardiovascular Pharmacology Module
Vascular diseases such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus are the main causes of cardiovascular events, which have an important impact on healthcare and society as a whole. Although useful drugs are currently available for preventing and treating these illnesses, the number of hospital admissions, clinical monitoring and deaths are still high. This means that the therapy available will probably be subject to a significant improvement in the years to come. In this context, the programme aims to contribute towards finding a solution to a social-health problem of great proportions, through the training of researchers in the causing factors of cardiovascular disease, in efficient pharmacological strategies for preventing and/or reversing these disorders and in the development and analysis of new cardiovascular medicines. The specialization programme in Cardiovascular Pharmacology will be taught by teachers from leading research groups in the field, working in the UAM Departments of Pharmacology, Physiology and Medicine, the Faculty of Medicine at the Madrid Complutense University’s Department of Pharmacology and the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos’ Department of Biochemistry, Physiology and Molecular Genetics, as well as other healthcare professionals as specified in the corresponding section.
Neuropsychopharmacology Specialization Module
In recent decades a torrent of new medicines for neurological and psychological conditions has revolutionized the treatment of illnesses of great significance for both healthcare and society, such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s, neuropathies, pain and surgery (local and general anaesthetics). This revolution has been extended to field of psychiatry, which has led to the eventual disuse of old mental hospitals. The pharmacological revolution extends to schizophrenia, unipolar and bipolar depression, anxiety and insomnia. Students will learn that this revolution only covers a limited portion of mental and neurological illnesses. There is still much research to be done on illnesses that have a great impact on society and healthcare such as dementias such as Alzheimer and vascular dementia, strokes or metabolic and hereditary cerebral illnesses. The Neuropsychopharmacology specialization programme has been structured using extensive scientific experience in research and the development of neurological and psychological medicines in the 50 researchers based at the Instituto Teófilo Hernando de I+D del Medicamento (ITH) (Teófilo Hernando Institute for Drug Development). Several teachers from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics are members of the ITH. As a result of their working together, along with their solid and extensive experience in research, guarantee the success of this specialization programme.
Lastly, through work experience at a research laboratory, students of the Master’s become familiar with the different aspects of research life, from designing experiments, using the appropriate methodology, and obtaining and analysing results to their later interpretation, discussion and presentation.
The overall objectives of the Master’s degree are, therefore, as follows:
Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Calle del Arzobispo Morcillo 4. 28029 Madrid. Tel. +34 91 497 54 86 Fax. 91 497 53 53. Email. informacion.medicina@uam.es
