Pharmacology & Therapeutics - Structured

Discilpline Overview

The Discipline has research links with other national and international centres, including Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, the Regenerative Medicine Institute, and the Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials at NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Nottingham, University College London, Cardiff University, Lund University, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the University of Pennsylvania, and H/S Lundbeck, Denmark. The research activities of the Discipline are funded from a variety of competitive sources.

Candidates should normally have a high honours standard in a relevant academic discipline at primary degree level or equivalent, together with the support of an academic staff member who is approved by the College to supervise the research in terms of its nature and scope.



Additional entry requirements

Candidates may be required to submit a research proposal for consideration by the School as part of their application.

Course Code: Structured PhD, full-time,1SPD1—College of MNHS Structured PhD, full-time, 1SPS1—College of Science



Applications are made online via the NUI Galway Postgraduate Applications System.

Structured PhD (full-time, four years).

Research Areas


Molecular and cellular biology of vertebrate embryo development


Antidepressants; novel targets; modulating immune responses


Non-animal alternatives for toxicological assessment of drugs


Novel cell, gene and pharmacological therapies for Parkinson's disease


Molecular mechanisms of intestinal injury, repair and carcinogenesis; inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and radiation injury to the intestinal tract


Caspases, cell death and differentiation;, chemotherapy-induced apoptosis and cancer


Neurochemical, neuroendocrine and molecular mechanisms underlying pain, anxiety and depression


Neuropharmacology of cannabinoid and opioid receptors; The endocannabinoid system in pain, anxiety, Parkinson's disease and neuroimmune function


Toll-like receptors and the brain-gut axis